Of emotional intelligence and happiness
by PrisonBreakFan08
Summary: A multi-chapter post-7A finale story (after the kiss). Epilogue finally posted! Like PJA (and Mike Ross for that matter), I am "#Darvey4Life". FYI, I decided to ignore the spoilers/trailer for 7B, including PJA and MM leaving the show.
1. I'm sorry, Harvey

_Author's notes:_

 _This is my first attempt at writing in the Suits fandom… I hope I'm forgiven for leaving the Prison Break universe (even if you can never say never, I might go back to it someday)._

With that, she left her office as fast as she could without running. Harvey was speechless and motionless for a moment then found his legs and went after Donna. He saw her enter the elevator and accelerated to be able to join her before the doors closed on him.

Donna stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights, afraid of what was going to happen next, afraid that it was the end. _Their end_. If he had stayed in her office, she could have pretended that _it_ hadn't happened. That she hadn't kissed him (and that he hadn't kissed her back, even if she broke the kiss soon after). That her heart wasn't broken right now because of the situation they were currently in. She just wished that she could have pretended for a little longer. But it seemed that for once in his life Harvey was in a fighting mode. Just my luck, she thought. When you want him to react and fight, he doesn't do it but the _one time_ you would prefer him to do nothing, of course he has to do something! In that case, follow her and prevent her escape. Because she was well aware of it, it was an escape. She was escaping. Escaping Harvey, escaping the mess the kiss was sure to bring, escaping the sad reality of her love life. She was deeply in love in Harvey, she realized it now, probably had been for years, and the kiss only confirmed it. When she recovered enough to look at him, anger was the first emotion that she was able to read on his face. She also detected surprise. Undeniably (and understandably) from being kissed "out of the blue" by his former assistant and now COO of the firm he was managing. Fear also seemed to be in the mix. She thought that she noticed sadness as well but it was probably her projecting her own emotions onto him.

He was the first one to speak: "Where are you going?"

She didn't respond right away but gave him a pointed look. It was obvious: she was leaving. "Home. And you probably should too." So far, her voice had been steady but she suspected that it changed when she added: "To see Paula or something?" The bitterness that she perceived in her tone disappointed even herself. She wanted to sound strong but most likely failed miserably.

"Don't bring her into this." His tone didn't allow for discussion and it hurt her a little more. "This isn't about Paula. This is about us, Donna."

She could have lashed out then. She could have told him: "There is no "us", Harvey!" The truth however was that even thinking that was difficult, almost too much, and she didn't have the strength to say it out loud. She remained silent, refusing to cry in front of him, at least not without trying to will her tears away first.

"So that's how it's going to be? You kiss me, say something enigmatic and then leave?!"

Yep, pretty much, she said to herself sarcastically. Besides, he was the one who wanted to talk now?! Really?! Okay then… "I'm sorry I kissed you, Harvey: That's what you want to hear?!"

"You can't do that, Donna!" His tone was accusatory, like what she had just done was completely illegal. "I can't do what, Harvey?" She matched his volume and expression. She was able to do that too. Because she had every reason to be. She felt more desperate than angry but she could certainly play his game if that was what he wanted. He wanted a fight, he would get a fight. At that point, what was there to lose anyway? So, she questioned aggressively: "I can't kiss you or I can't leave right after?!"

"You can't kiss me and say you're sorry without giving me some kind of explanation!" And with that, he pushed the emergency button and the elevator stopped its descent.

"I thought it was pretty obvious but I guess I should have expected no less coming from the man who has the emotional intelligence of a snail", she spat. She realized the absurdity of their exchanges and their current location/destination and her anger was not feigned anymore. If it was the reflection of their relationship, it was terribly depressing. Almost 13 years to arrive at that point? What point? Exactly. It felt like it had been all for nothing.

"I may have the emotional intelligence of a snail, as you so eloquently put it, but you are supposed to know better! You are supposed to _be_ better, for god's sake!" His voice was louder suddenly and he glared at her when he continued: "And now you're telling me that it was all fake? That you lied to me?"

Her retort came as fast as his accusations and she yelled back: "What now? You want me to apologize for being a great actress too? For putting your happiness before mine?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "One, clearly you don't know everything about my happiness, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Donna took his last sentence hard but he didn't give her time to come with a response. "Two, you think you're a great actress?!" He scoffed, with an offended expression. "I freaking _deserve_ an Oscar for pretending not to be in love with you all this time!"

Apparently, it was her turn to speak but she was too stunned to say anything or even think about anything, other than the end of his statement, which was on repeat in her mind: "for pretending not to be in love with you". Then it hit her and she imagined that she had the same look as him earlier, minus the anger bit, as anger had left her as quickly as it had appeared. What was left was surprise, fear and sadness (now she was sure that sadness was part of the equation, she could _feel_ it in every inch of her body). Surprise: she was more than surprised by his sudden declaration. Never in a million years had she thought him capable to say these words out loud. To _her_ no less. Fear: she was scared that despite what he had just said, he wouldn't act on his words and nothing would change, at least nothing good for her. For _them_. Sadness: she was sad that she might have pushed them into a precipice, when her intentions had not been to do that. What had been her intentions? She didn't think that it had been clear in her mind at the time. It had been an impulse. The result of a horrible week (damn you, Malik), timely speeches (damn you, Mike and Louis) and almost 13 years of suppressed feelings (damn you, Harvey). She had said that she had kissed him because she had to know and it was true. But the first and most important reason was much simpler: she had kissed him because she _wanted_ to.

As if reading her mind, Harvey broke the silence and questioned her: "So what do you know now?" His voice was unexpectedly soft and his face devoid of the harshness that had inhabited it before.

She glanced at him and cleared her throat before answering quietly: "I know that I don't want to continue as if nothing happened."

Was she referring to the kiss or their long and complicated history of (not always subtle) flirtation and missteps? He nodded because regardless of what she meant, he agreed. He leaned on the wall next to Donna but still at a reasonable distance and put his hands in his pockets, encouraging her to continue.

"I know that my rule was in place to protect myself from falling for you but that I only fooled myself because it didn't work."

Harvey swallowed with difficulty, his eyes never leaving her, while her gaze remained on the closed doors in front of her. His heart ached for her. Visibly he wasn't the only one with issues. For once, he wished he could have been.

After another moment of silence, she added, barely above a whisper: "I know that it wasn't just all in my head and that our timing is awful like usual."

He closed his eyes and exhaled quietly before opening his mouth to speak: "Donna…"

"And now I know that I ruined everything", she chuckled in a self-deprecating manner, fighting back a sob and finally turning her head to look at him in the eye.

She was about to press the button to resume their descent when she heard Harvey's voice, not loud, yet firm: "I know that I settled with Paula." That caught her attention and she resumed her position next to him, letting her hand fall to her side. "I know that I could have said something about your rule when you started to work with me at the firm, or at any other time for that matter." He licked his lips to fight the dryness that seemed to be everywhere now: his lips, his throat, the air in the metal box. "I know that I could have confronted you after what happened with Stephen. I know that I could have told you that your rule was the only reason that prevented me from staying at your apartment but not before I had told you that I loved you." He passed his hand on his face and exhaled loudly, exhausted by his long day and even more by the events of the last hour. "I know that I was a coward. I didn't want to risk anything because I was afraid to lose everything. At some point, I convinced myself that it was all in my head too. Because why would you want to be with someone like me anyway? I mean "fucked up" doesn't even begin to cover it." He finished his last sentence with a sad smile. Gone was the confident lawyer who happened to be New York City's best closer. In his place stood a man who had never felt so vulnerable. He was avoiding her eyes now. Expressing his feelings (except for his frustration and anger) was not in his habit, as least not in such an articulated way. "So, when you said that you wanted more, I was even more scared that your "more" would not include me at all and I… panicked." He took a pause, still carefully avoiding her eyes. "So yeah, I settled… I don't love her. I am not in love with her. But she was accessible and I thought you were not…" He glanced at her and didn't miss the look she gave him in return. "I know, that's twisted…"

"I would go with plain stupid if you ask me", she interjected quietly.

"Okay, that was stupid, very stupid, and I am sincerely sorry because I _know_ that I hurt you in the past, and more recently with Paula. But please, let me make things right. Please, don't give up on me." Harvey Specter was not one to beg, for anything, but he was ready to do whatever it took to repair the one relationship in his life that he didn't want to fail, that he _couldn't_ fail.

Donna stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to evaluate the sincerity of his words. Harvey held her gaze, fearing that if he did not, she wouldn't think that it was worth it, that _they were worth it_ , that _he was worth fighting for_. She nodded imperceptibly and it gave him hope. She looked at him again and collected her thoughts before speaking: "You're right, you hurt me. But it's not like you're the only one to blame here. We're both responsible for this mess… I know what I want but I also know that I need time for myself. Time to heal. Time to find who I am again. I know what I am in this firm but there's more to life than that… I need time and I think you do too."

He was puzzled: "You're leaving the firm?"

"Not indefinitely but yes", she replied. She saw his eyes go from confusion to heartbreak in an instant and regretted her decision. "Let's call it a long overdue vacation", she added to soften the blow of her words.

"Okay", he said quietly. He appeared resigned and pushed the button to resume the elevator's descent. When the door finally opened and Donna started to exit the elevator, he couldn't help but ask: "How long do you think you're going to be gone?"

Donna turned on her heels and looked at him, uncertain: "I don't know, Harvey… Four weeks maybe?"

"Okay", he repeated, nodding. "Take care of yourself, Donna", he said before the door closed.

"You too, Harvey."


	2. Burning in hell

_Author's notes:_

 _Thanks for the warm welcome in the Suits fandom and all of your reviews, Suitors. Here is Chapter 2. The action in this chapter directly follows the events depicted in Chapter 1… Enjoy!_

Before leaving the office, Harvey sent two emails: one to Donna and one to all the important persons in the firm to schedule an emergency meeting for the following morning. All of the important persons in the firm, minus Donna, his mind corrected. It hurt not to include her in the message's recipients. Despite her reassurance that her leave was temporary, Harvey was afraid that it wouldn't be. He decided to put the idea aside and focus on the fact that Donna had said that she would come back. He sincerely hoped that she would. With a sigh, he shut his computer down and got up. Then, for the second time in less than three hours, he made his way to his condo.

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Donna resisted until she was home before she checked her phone. She had heard three notifications, indicating that several persons had tried to reach her (unless they were all from Harvey, which was a possibility, even though she had told him that she needed time and he had seemed to accept her decision to leave the firm, at least temporarily). Upon verification, it appeared that she had received a text message from Rachel ("Just checking how you're doing. Drinks soon? Michelle misses her Harriet!"). _Oh, Rachel, when did you become so good at knowing when your friend needs you?_ Not ready to answer Rachel yet, she moved to her next notification, which was a voicemail from Louis. In not always completely formed (and certainly not always coherent) sentences, Louis profusely apologized for having emptied his bag of emotions in her office earlier that night. He had considered the situation with Sheila a little bit more and had come to the conclusion that if they were meant to be, they would find their way back to each other. He ended his message by saying that he hoped that she didn't think too much of it. _A little late for that, Louis…_ Her final notification was an email from Harvey, which was unusual in itself. In all the years that she had known Harvey, their preferred way to contact each other had been to call or text. Harvey had rarely used their work email to communicate with her and yet, here he was, emailing her, barely minutes after she had left him in the elevator. Before she could ponder why, the subject of his message caught her attention ("Jessica and PSL"). She sat down on her couch, with a glass of red wine in hand, and opened the email.

"I hope you won't dismiss this message because I said I would respect your decision to take some time to yourself and now I'm emailing you…" _You'd better have a good reason, Harvey._ "Believe it or not, I had a reason to come to your office tonight and well, we got sidetracked." _One, are you reading my mind? Two, "sidetracked"? That's one way to put it!_ She chuckled. _God, I shouldn't be joking about that now but it's that or start crying…_ "Anyway, Jessica is being disbarred. Malik wanted to hurt us and he has found a way." _Shit. Okay… Yeah, that qualifies as a good reason._ "Jessica knows. I saw her at my apartment earlier. She is surprisingly okay with the news and doesn't want to fight it. I guess it helps that it won't affect her ability to practice law in Chicago. In any case, we find ourselves with a crisis on our hands that needs our immediate attention. I don't expect you to stay because of it but I have two questions/favours to ask you. First, will you write the memo that is going to be circulated regarding the firm's name change? I have emailed Louis, Alex, Mike, Rachel and Katrina to request a meeting with them first thing tomorrow morning. I will explain the situation and what we're going to do. The idea is to spin this thing so that people (besides Malik) will buy our story and that's where I was hoping you could contribute. Please let me know if you are willing to do it. It's okay if you're not (I would completely understand)." _Wow, Harvey showing maturity and professionalism. That's… new!_ "Then, what do you want to tell Louis and the others? It would probably be best if you were the one to inform them directly. Once again, I don't mean to pressure you, just to give you the option to leave (temporarily) on your terms. That way, you and I would be on the same page, instead of potentially saying contradictory things. Enjoy your time off and see you soon." _Well, I guess it wasn't realistic to think that I could leave without saying anything…_ Donna finished her glass of red wine, got up to refill it and sat back down, opening her laptop to work a little bit before going to bed. _Silver lining? Jessica's disbarment is a terribly wonderful distraction from my own problems!_

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When Harvey opened the door to his penthouse, he was ready to forget, at least for a night, the mess his life had become in a matter of one evening, either personally or professionally. It took him two seconds to realize that it wouldn't be possible. _Paula_. He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. _Why did I have to give her my key?_ Donna _'s key_. It seemed that he would have to face Paula sooner than later and he instantly became uneasy. His mind was all over the place. What was he supposed to say? How?

"Harvey! You're home. Finally."

He thought that he was used to Paula's British accent but that night, for the first time in a long time, it made him cringe. "Hey", he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His throat was incredibly tight and he made the conscious effort to breathe in an attempt to relax. She looked at him with expectant eyes and he felt guilty, avoiding her gaze as quickly as possible.

"Tough night?" Harvey answered with a nod and an evasive "hum" which prompted the therapist to go on: "You know, one thing that I learned as a therapist is to leave my professional life at work…"

Finally finding his voice, Harvey replied: "Well, it's personal too." His steps led him to the living room and his stash of alcohol.

"Does it have anything to do with Donna and the trial?"

Harvey was about to pour himself a glass of Macallan but his head turned at the name. _How could she know?_ His expression must have changed because Paula's curiosity increased. Harvey didn't often appear tense or uncomfortable. Well, besides therapy, she pondered. Opting to ignore the reminder, she went back to her initial intuition, that it had something to do with Donna. In the months that they had dated, Donna's name had been a recurrent topic of conversation and, every time, it seemed to bring another layer of distance and misunderstanding between Harvey and herself. That was what she didn't appreciate. Well, it wasn't the only thing that she didn't appreciate about Donna. Her latest in-person interaction had left a bitter taste in her mouth, not that she had shared it with Harvey afterward.

Harvey returned to the kitchen, Paula following him and sitting on a stool, while he stood behind the island. Harvey opened his mouth but closed it soon after without pronouncing a word. Where could he start?

Paula was waiting for him to say something but his silence, uncharacteristically, unnerved her. Abandoning her reserve, she decided to cut the chase. "I told you that I didn't feel threatened by you having another woman in your life that you care about but that's not exactly true", she started. Harvey's eyes were on her now, piercing and willing her to continue. She suddenly had a glimpse of Harvey as a lawyer and she recoiled imperceptibly. "It's not that I don't trust you, Harvey, it's just that you spend so much time with Donna… I understand that you two work together…"

Regardless of his current issues with Donna, if someone, _anyone_ , was attacking her (because it really felt like it was going to be an attack against Donna), he would always respond, which he did immediately, interrupting Paula in the process. "Listen, Paula, Donna is the firm's COO and her office is next to mine. Of course, I'm going to spend some time with her."

She almost revealed the encounter that she had in her office with the former assistant approximately a year ago ("Harvey has no idea what he's missing") but decided against it. She was starting to second-guess everything about their relationship, her own insecurities adding to the mix and leaving her even more on the defensive. "Like I told you, she has feelings for you", she began. Harvey was now staring at her but she didn't let it unsettle her. "And I don't like the idea of you being in her company", she finally admitted.

Harvey scoffed: "Are you asking me to choose between you and her?" _The irony!_

"I'm asking you to prioritize your relationships", she retorted firmly, not missing the fire in his eyes, even if he did his best to conceal it rapidly.

"Look, Donna and I have a long history together and we have only been dating for a short time…" He found it difficult to even say the word "dating" out loud, which Paula sensed immediately. _God, what did I do? Why did I have to run to her? I'm such an idiot and the only one responsible for this fiasco._ "I'm sorry, Paula, but I don't think it's a good idea to continue seeing each other." _There. I said it. And it wasn't so hard actually. Like it hadn't been difficult to ask her out two months ago. Maybe that's a sign that it wasn't the right thing to do…_

A sad smile appeared on Paula's lips and she nodded, an air of resignation on her face. "It was probably a mistake to begin with", she reasoned. "Dating a former patient…" She closed her eyes for a second, willing the tears to stay at bay. "What was I thinking?" Her last question was more rhetorical than anything else and Harvey could only return her sad smile.

"I'm sorry", he repeated.

"Me too, Harvey. Me too." Despite the hurt, she couldn't completely blame him because _she_ should have known better. She stood up and went back to the living room, picking up her purse next to the coffee table, while Harvey remained in the kitchen, silently observing her. When she returned, Harvey was leaning back against the counter, his hands on either side of his body, holding the work surface behind him. She rummaged inside her bag and quickly found the item that she was looking for. "Here. You should get that back." She put the key in his hand and realized that it was the only thing that she needed to remember before leaving Harvey's condo, and most likely leaving his life for good as well. The fact that she had never left any clothes or toiletries at his place (he had never proposed and she had never asked) should have been a warning, a clear indication that he wasn't completely committed to their relationship. But she hadn't been ready to analyze him when he had reached out to her two months earlier. Because it would have been admitting that he still had issues that needed to be addressed, therefore that her considering him boyfriend material was wrong on so many levels. In retrospect, facing now the end of them as a couple, she found her situation extremely depressing, yet highly predictable. "Good bye, Harvey."

He lowered his gaze briefly before glancing at her once again. "Good bye, Paula." He escorted her to the door and his eyes followed her retreating form until she turned the corner to go to the elevator. He was probably going to burn in hell for that but he felt relieved that they had broken up, like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Yeah, he was definitely going to burn in hell…


	3. Moulin Rouge

_Author's notes:_

 _Sorry for the delay in posting a new chapter. The Olympics have considerably slowed down my writing. This chapter is longer than the first two (so I hope I am forgiven) and starts the day after the events of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Enjoy!_

 _Timeline precisions: in my fanfic world, the kiss happened on June 22 (of 2017) so this chapter starts on Friday, June 23 and the reason behind this timeline will be revealed in Chapter 4._

At 5:45 pm Donna relaxed for the first time since waking up. A glass of white wine in hand, she enjoyed her comfortable and spacious seat in first class, ready for take-off. It has been a busy day as she had tried, and managed, to take care of everything in preparation for her time away from New York City. She briefly felt guilty for leaving the firm when it was facing one of its biggest crises but reminded herself that there would always be another crisis and that she needed to take care of herself first if she wanted to be useful to the firm again one day. Her last work-related action until her return in a few weeks would be the memo that she had sent Harvey that morning, at 7:02 am exactly. She knew that it would give him confidence going into his meeting with Louis and the others. The memo was straight to the point and, in elegant prose, focused on two essential points: the firm would now be called "Specter Litt" and it would be "business as usual" for the firm's clients. It didn't mean that she wouldn't be in contact with Harvey or Louis but she was planning on keeping it to a minimum in an attempt to properly disconnect from her life at the firm. And disconnect from Harvey as well, her mind added. She was physically and mentally exhausted and not just from their kiss. She hadn't taken a proper holiday in a long time, so long in fact that she didn't remember when the last time that she was off work for more than three consecutive days was. She thought about Harvey and how they had left things and was relatively calm about it. It could have been worse, she mused. After so many years working together and having feelings for him (even if they were repressed for most of the time), some distance was necessary. She needed to find herself again, without him, in order, maybe, to be able to reconnect with him in the future.

She had left Louis a voice mail, relieved that his schedule was so predictable. _Looking at him, you wouldn't think that he goes to the gym to work out every morning before going to the firm and yet…_ She explained in her message that she would take a temporary leave from the firm and that Harvey had approved it (he hadn't had much choice but Louis didn't need to know that). She did her best to reassure him that he wasn't responsible for her leave. It wasn't completely true but, as she had already said during the mock trial, it wasn't that simple. Besides, she didn't feel like burdening him with her love life (of lack thereof), not at a moment when the firm would require his full attention and energy. She hoped that her friend would be okay and that he wouldn't fight with Harvey in the following weeks when she wouldn't be there to act as a referee or buffer between the two.

She recalled her phone conversation with Rachel as well. "Is it because of Harvey?", the young lawyer had asked as soon as Donna had told her that she was (temporarily) leaving the firm. Her determined tone when she had answered ("It's because of Harvey and because of Malik but first and foremost, it's about me. I need to put myself first and right now it means taking a step back.") had prevented her from asking more questions and had somewhat eased her worries. Donna would tell her more when she was ready, until then she would have to trust her friend that she knew what she was doing. The redhead promised to keep in touch while she was away.

Donna's mind then jumped to the meeting that had happened earlier that morning at the firm. She could almost see the conference room full of anticipation (she hadn't mentioned anything related to Jessica to Louis and had carefully avoided the topic when speaking with Rachel), Harvey envying Louis, Mike and the others because they didn't know what it was about. She pictured Harvey clearing his throat and starting to explain the situation regarding Jessica. She guessed that he had had to calm everyone down when he reported Malik's actions and its consequences for the former managing partner and soon-to-be ex name partner. She imagined how Harvey would try to emphasize Jessica's decision as well as the firm's future and the measures that needed to be taken in order to remain one of New York City's best law firms. She was certain that the meeting had ended on a positive note. They had a plan to survive the storm caused by Jessica's disbarment, beginning with her memo and ending with the amount of money that the firm was going to spend on buying Jessica out (the exact amount would be fair, Donna was sure of it). To the outside world, the firm's name alteration would be the most (and hopefully only) visible change. To Specter Litt, "business as usual" would mean extra hours to ensure that their biggest clients were happy with the services that the firm provided and that they continued to successfully work on prestigious cases.

She finally decided to forget New York, the firm and Harvey and focus on her destination. She had decided to leave the city, not trusting herself that she would stay away from the life that she needed a break from if she didn't escape New York City. It had been relatively easy to choose where she would go first. _When in doubt, one can always rely on Shakespeare's homeland, right?_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A week later, Donna had visited several London touristic spots as well as less popular places. She had also secured tickets for two plays performed in different venues and had enjoyed every minute of each one. She hadn't told anyone where she was going at first, just that she was leaving town, so she took the opportunity of a morning trip to the London Eye to take a selfie with the famous attraction in the background and send it to her mother and sister as well as Harvey, Louis and Rachel. Harvey's short reply to her text, seconds after she had hit the send button, came as a surprise considering the time difference. _Why isn't he sleeping?_ It also made her smile: "Say hi to William for me!" He hadn't contacted her since she had sent him the memo, probably respecting her wish to put some distance between them, and she was grateful for it. While she missed him (too much to her liking), she remained strong and didn't engage in any more text messages with him. Her reasoning was that if they had any chance of working out as more than colleagues, they needed time apart first. She had almost lost her way with Mark. She thought that he had certainly lost his with Paula but it wasn't in her control. What was in her control was to take care of herself, heal her own wounds and hope that Harvey would do the same in her absence. "I'm Donna, I know" suddenly seemed ridiculous, like a saying that someone extremely drunk would have come up with. She was still Donna but her usual overconfidence was nowhere to be found.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Her first time in London had been in her twenties, as part of a three-week Summer trip that had also brought her to Stratford-upon-Avon (for Shakespeare, of course!), Liverpool (she was a Beatles fan too) and Dublin (her family had roots in Ireland). She wasn't a recent graduate anymore and she didn't have to stay in completely booked and very noisy hostels. In the same vein, she didn't have to take her meals exclusively in cheap restaurants or pubs. This time, she could indulge herself and she did, without any remorse. One afternoon after a tour of the Royal Opera House, Donna discovered that the London Film Museum, which was a few steps away from the Royal Opera House, had an exhibition on James Bond. On James Bond vehicles more exactly. Smirking at the coincidence, she entered the store. Just to look. Out of curiosity, she told herself. _No, not to find presents for Harvey._ Well… She spent the next half hour browsing the store that would have made Harvey's head spin. She was tempted by many things but, in the end, she settled for an Aston Martin number plate keyring (Donna knew that he would understand the reference) and a Pop! Vinyl James Bond (Goldfinger edition). She chuckled to herself as she picked the figure. It was James Bond, the Sean Connery's version (Harvey's favourite), but it was also a toy that would most likely make him scratch his head. It wasn't his style and that's why she took it. Teasing him had once been one of her favorite pastimes and she was planning on doing that again when she returned. She added to her gifts a couple of 007 logo mugs for herself ( _mugs are always useful_ ) and a grey 007 tee-shirt featuring Sean Connery as James Bond that she would keep, at least for now. It was in Harvey's size and she had debated whether or not she should buy it, ultimately deciding to do so. For some reason, despite the distance, she felt optimistic about the future that day and she envisioned giving the tee-shirt to Harvey on his birthday or for Christmas. She paid her purchases and swiftly exited the premises of the Museum. It would be her last night in London as she was taking the train to Paris in the morning and she needed to pack. London had been wonderful, Shakespeare amazing and she was excited to discover the French capital.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Three days in and Donna was ready to leave Paris. It didn't feel right to stay. Maybe it was the heat wave currently hitting the country that made the atmosphere unbreathable. Maybe it was because of the large (and visible) presence of law enforcement people that made her feel insecure everywhere she went. Maybe it was because she couldn't stop reminding herself that it was called the "City of Love" and that she was alone there. In any case, the city's many museums, its great restaurants and must-see locations were not enough to keep her in Paris for more than three days. During her short stay, Donna still had time to visit the Louvre Museum (Mona Lisa was totally worth seeing in person!), see the Eiffel Tower and admire the breathtaking view from the top, and walk on the Champs Élysées, France's most famous street.

She pondered her options for a few minutes and made reservations for train tickets and hotel accommodations for Cannes. It was an impulsive decision that seemed much more fitting: she would be right by the Mediterranean Sea (therefore escaping the extreme heat) and she would also honor her passion for the seventh art in a town that annually hosts an international film festival. Granted, she had missed the festival in itself but it would still be cool to be there. She had booked a room at the iconic Carlton, a luxurious hotel overlooking the French Riviera and, barely 15 minutes after checking in, at just past 3:30 pm, she was on the hotel's private beach, settled on a very comfortable lounge chair under a sun umbrella. A waiter was by her side instantly, asking in perfect English what she wanted to order. She cringed when she heard the accent that was clearly from England. _Can't I have a break?_ "A margarita, please."

The waiter moved to the patron next to her: "Would you like another one, Madame?"

"No, thank you. Could I please have a margarita too?"

Donna was about to open her book, _The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck_ (which she was really looking forward to reading), when she heard the woman next to her speak. She turned slightly to glance at her.

"Finally, someone ordering alcohol!" the woman stated dramatically.

Perplexed, Donna replied: "I was under the impression that the French were quite fond of their alcoholic beverages…"

The woman who was approximately Donna's age took her glasses off so that she could better make eye contact with her: "Well, there aren't many French people here. I was starting to wonder when it was appropriate to start drinking something stronger than iced tea!"

Donna's eyes scanned the beach as if she could detect the clients' country of origin just by looking at them and shrugged: "It's always 5 o'clock somewhere."

"Ha! You're right." The woman, a brunette with shoulder length hair and wearing black swim shorts with a matching bikini top, smiled and continued: "American?"

"Yes. From New York." Donna was originally from Connecticut but had claimed New York as her home a long time ago.

"New York City or the state of New York?"

"New York City", Donna answered. "Are you American too?"

"Yes but I live in Canada now."  
Donna nodded, not sure if she needed to interrogate her interlocutor in return or not. The person in question didn't need to be probed though. "Vancouver, in beautiful British Columbia. I used to live in LA but moved there for work."

Donna's curiosity was picked. "What do you do?"  
"I work for a tv show. I'm one of the writers."

"That's very cool", Donna declared. "May I ask what show?"

"I work for _Supergirl_ ", Alicia said proudly.

"Wow! I did not expect that", Donna retorted, chuckling.

"I get that a lot. But you would be surprised by how many women work on superheroes shows."

"Consider me surprised!"

"Not a fan of the genre? You don't have to lie, I won't be insulted if you're not a fan…"

"I like Batman", she replied, smiling inwardly and not even chastising herself for thinking about Harvey once again.

The woman took advantage of the silence that followed Donna's words to introduce herself. Alicia was her name. They then cheered with their margarita when the waiter came back bearing drinks. "So Donna, what do you do in New York City?"

"I work at a law firm", she replied vaguely.

"As a lawyer?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm the firm's COO."

"That sounds important."

"Well, I'm on vacation for a few weeks. We'll see how important I am when I get back!"

"Hehe! I hope for your sake that you're not so important that your firm will collapse in your absence."

"Yes, let's hope I'll still have a job when I get back", Donna reasoned. She suddenly missed Harvey (more than usual) and was quiet for a moment, focusing on sipping her cocktail and contemplating the view of the Mediterranean Sea from her vantage point.

Three margaritas later, Donna and Alicia were clearly tipsy and discussing more like old friends than recent acquaintances. Donna had learned that her drinking partner had been supposed to go to France with her girlfriend when said girlfriend had unceremoniously dumped her. Alicia had vowed to appreciate her trip to France regardless of the circumstances. And no, she insisted explicitly, she _wasn't_ hitting on Donna.

"No offense but I think I'm going to stay away from relationships, no matter what kind, for the moment."

Donna's retort mirrored Alicia's humorous tone: "None taken. You're not my style anyway. I prefer them manly."

Alicia laughed out loud. "Be careful with what you wish for. You could find manly women too…"

It was Donna's turn to laugh. "Fair point. But I think I'll stick with men anyway."

"Your loss", Alicia retorted playfully. "So, tell me, Donna. Is there a man in your life?"

Donna sighed. The question wasn't surprising considering what they had shared so far but it didn't mean that it was easy to form an answer. "It's complicated", Donna started, unsure of how she could explain her relationship with Harvey.

"I'm on vacation. I have all the time in the world."

Donna then attempted to describe Harvey and their unique bond. She finished with the kiss and the difficult position that she had put him in, while also highlighting how frustrating (and wrong) she thought his "relationship" with Paula was.

"She's his former therapist?! That's fucked up."

"Yep… God, I hate her. She totally abused her position of power with him and, on top of things, she betrayed me too."

"How come?"

"I talked to her once when Harvey was still in therapy. I needed to find him and I thought he would be there. I basically told her how I felt about him and, a year later, she's not his therapist anymore and…"

"Bitch", Alicia exclaimed, a little too loudly, making a few patrons look at them oddly. "She has no shame."

At that point, Donna couldn't have cared less about being heard by other people. "Did I mention that I also profoundly despise her stupid English accent? I know it's totally unfair to the people of England but I just can't…"

They were interrupted by the waiter announcing that his shift was over and Donna burst out laughing as soon as he was far enough not to hear.

Alicia joined her in laughter and quickly returned to their topic of conversation. "No, no, it's totally fair. English people can't be trusted. I agree with you 100%!"

"Oh yeah?"

"My ex was from England… But going back to you, how long have they been together?"

"They celebrated their two-month anniversary", Donna replied, somberly remembering her encounter with the therapist shortly before the date.

"Two months?! Who celebrates that, except high school students who are happy that they made it so far?! Two months? It's nothing. I mean, unless you're in high school! How long have you known each other again? Come on, sister, have faith. She'll get what she deserves. In the mean time, you're in Cannes and you should enjoy your vacation!"

"I'll drink to that!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The following morning, Donna realised that she had a voice message from Rachel on her phone. In her slightly drunken state the night before, she had missed her friend's call.

"Hey Donna! Are you still in Paris? How is it? I hope you're having a blast! I don't know what happened between you and Harvey but I figured you would want to know that he and Paula have broken up. Harvey told Mike today and it seems that it happened the day before you took off for London. He was reportedly the one who ended things with her. In other news, the firm is still going strong. I'm on a new case with Harvey. It's a ton of work but I'm learning a lot. Hopefully we're going to kick some asses. Okay, I have to go but give me some news when you have a minute! Love you. Bye."

Having listened to the message, Donna left her room to join Alicia for a walk on _Allée des Étoiles du Cinéma_ (or Star-Studded Floor) near the _Palais des Festivals et des Congrès_ , the venue for the Cannes Film Festival. The pair had a specific mission in mind: finding Nicole Kidman's hand prints and signature! They had indeed discovered that they were both fans of _Moulin Rouge_ and of the great Australian actress in particular. Hence their mission of the day. They also wanted to see the steps climbed by the stars during the festival. Her second day in Cannes looked promising, especially now that she had heard Rachel's message. _Rachel, Rachel, I can't hide anything from you… Thank you, my friend, for looking out for me. You're right, I wanted to know. Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It doesn't mean anything for us. It only means that he finally saw the light and realized that she wasn't right for him._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After that day, Donna spent a week being a happy tourist in Cannes and its region, mostly with her new travel buddy. She initially thought that she would prefer to be alone but she actually didn't mind the company. Alicia was pretty easy going, loved art and had a similar sense of humour as Donna, which made them bond quickly, only commiserating about their miserable love life sporadically. They visited the Old City, St Marguerite Island, including its Maritime Museum, and the Picasso Museum. They went on multiple full-day excursions, notably to St Tropez (Donna didn't like it much despite the hype) and Grasse, the world's capital of perfume (an experience for the senses!). They also took advantage of the hotel's beach and chose to relax, read and/or swim depending on their mood, indulging in good food and good wine everyday. One night, they went to the casino where Donna won a surprisingly large amount of money for the sum that she had "invested". That night, they cheered to Donna's luck with numerous shots of tequila. The day after, they decided to take it easy and stay around the hotel, while nursing their hungover.

When Alicia's time in Cannes came to an end, Donna still had a few days left there. She spoiled herself with a long day of shopping, also known as retail therapy. Several famous designers had stores in downtown Cannes and Donna absolutely fell in love with Cartier and Chanel, buying new clothes and accessories that she was dying to show off. She had to limit her purchases at some point, otherwise she would have needed extra luggage. She then moved her quarters to Nice where she would fly back to the US from, taking advantage of her last morning in France to visit the Marc Chagall Museum.

Donna had initially planned to return after a four-week break but contacted Harvey to extend her leave by two weeks. She was now supposed to go back to work on Monday, August 7th. She registered for a 10-day yoga retreat in Colorado, a perfect opportunity to finish recharging her batteries. She liked practicing yoga everyday and going on hikes in her free time. What she didn't like, however, was being hit on by _both_ men and women during the retreat. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the attention (it was flattering actually) but it was annoying to repeatedly turn them down and doing so gently (they were in the same 10-day program after all). She finished her journey in Connecticut for some too rare family time with her mother, cooking and baking like she used to when she was a teenager. On Friday, August 4th, after about six weeks on the road, Donna felt ready to resume her life in New York and see where things with Harvey would lead them. She packed her bags one last time before spending the afternoon and evening with her sister, brother-in-law, nephew and young niece who were just back from their own vacation.

 _Additional author's notes:_

 _The London Film Museum has an exhibition on James Bond and Donna's purchases at the store there can be found on the museum's website, if you're curious._

 _For those of you who followed the Olympics, please know that Moulin Rouge was my reference to the Games :)_

 _PJA being a fan of ice dancing, Tessa Virtue a fan of Suits and the two of them tweeting at each other? Yes please! Also, Canada for the win!_

 _Next chapter: Donna is back in New York… Yes, that's a tease!_


	4. Saturday August 5, 2017

_Author's notes:_

 _Okay, Suitors, time to reunite our favorite duo! Suits is returning on our screens in a few weeks and I believe we're going to go through hell before, maybe, things will improve so let's stay in our own fictional world a little longer, shall we? Once again, I decided to ignore the latest pictures that were posted. I also forgot to mention but I don't own_ Suits _(unfortunately)._

It was only 11:42 am and Harvey already wanted the day to be over. A series of bad events started before he even woke up. He had a dream about Donna which left him worried. Two weeks before, he had had such a beautiful dream about her: they were in bed, cuddling, with his nose in the crook of her neck, being tickled by her hair, and life was just perfect. In his most recent dream, however, Donna had resigned (via text message!) and when he had gone to confront her at her place, he had realized that she wasn't there anymore. She had moved out and he was unsuccessful in finding her, running everywhere like a maniac until he woke up. Needless to say, it had taken all the strategies taught by his new therapist (deep breathing technique and positive self-talk) to be able to get out of bed and go on with his day. Then, he travelled to the firm to meet with Louis about a potential new client and things went downhill from there. The individual was a major jerk and, despite Harvey's reluctance, Louis was insisting on trying to attract him to the firm. Harvey argued that it wasn't worth the trouble but Louis thought otherwise and here they were, fighting about it and going nowhere. It reminding him of the (too many) times when they had butted heads in the past. We were doing so well, Harvey mused sadly. He had learned over the years that, when under stress, Louis was not at his best and Louis was definitely stressed out, hence their current predicament. For the second time that day, Harvey used his breathing technique in an attempt not to attack Louis and his sometimes-childish attitude. On top of things, and maybe the main reason why he was so annoyed by his day, was the date that his phone, his computer, Louis, everyone and everything kept reminding him of: August 5. It was their work anniversary and Donna was not back. She hadn't contacted him since her last message when she had requested an extension to her leave. Worse, his text message earlier ("Happy anniversary, Donna! I hope we can celebrate again in the future.") had so far gone without any reply from Donna. Harvey sighed loudly and decided to put an end to their meeting: "Louis, why don't we take the weekend to think about it? We can revisit this discussion on Monday and maybe we can ask Donna to weigh in." He hoped that he wasn't jinxing anything by mentioning Donna's return at the firm, supposedly on August 7.

"I agree. Let's postpone our decision until then. Do you have any news from Donna by the way? Last time she texted me, she told me she was doing a yoga retreat."

 _Yoga?!_ "I think she's in Connecticut, Louis."

"Taking time to see her family: that's good. Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

Harvey's initial plans (celebrating with Donna) were not looking good at the moment (and were none of Louis' business) so he opted for something less personal: "Getting out of here. Relaxing before we need to start all over again next week… Maybe go for a run?"

"It's beautiful outside, going for a run sounds like a good idea. I might do that too."

 _You run, Louis?!_ "Alright, Louis. Have a good weekend."

"You too, Harvey."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As he had suggested, Harvey had gone running. For a _long_ time. Unfortunately, it had provided no relief to his growing despair of not receiving any news from Donna. He had initially hoped that she would be back before their work anniversary but the date change had happened and he had since then tried to remain positive and focused on what was under his control. The firm was going well, they had hired a couple of persons to help in key areas and Donna was coming back. _Donna is coming back. She. Is. Coming. Back._ It was like a mantra that he kept repeating himself when doubts started to invade his mind. He took a short shower and exited his condo. He needed to get out and clear his mind. _God, I miss her._ He had never been away from Donna for so long in all the years that they had known each other. His thoughts brought him back to when he first met her and how she had taken his breath away. Years had passed and she was still the only woman who was able to do that on a regular basis. He missed seeing her every day at work in her beautiful dresses and ridiculously high heels. He missed hearing her mock Louis, put him in his place or simply be her smart and funny self. He missed her for reasons beyond the fact that she made his professional life easier. Their work relationship was what they had chosen to prioritize but if he had anything to say on the matter, it would change soon. Like her, he had realized that he wanted more. Now that she had opened the door on the possibility of them being together, it was all that he could think about. He just hoped that he hadn't missed his chance. He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. Sitting on a bench in the park near his home was _not_ how he had envisioned his evening to unfold. He had made a reservation at Del Posto weeks in advance, wishing to continue their long-lasting tradition of dinners there to mark the day. They hadn't even skipped Del Posto the year before when things were very tense between them. He remembered enjoying being able to reconnect with her then. He also remembered learning that she was seeing someone and feeling uncomfortable at the time. In retrospect, that feeling was jealousy. He had been so clueless. He could have fought for her, instead of nodding stupidly after hearing the guy's name, Mitchell. He could have fought for her later, instead of going to his former therapist. So many missed opportunities, so many regrets. He went back to his current situation: Donna's silence and absence from his life on their special day. Maybe he had not been clear enough when they had talked that night in the elevator after their kiss. Maybe he had and she had lost faith in him, thinking that his words didn't mean anything anymore. So, there he was, alone and sulking, because he had not seen Donna in almost six weeks, because of the text that he had sent her that morning had remained unanswered, and because his fears of having screwed everything up before it even started were beginning to suffocate him. He had done everything he had said he would (making things right which meant breaking up with Paula and seeking therapy with a competent professional), everything she had asked from him (that was simple: time and space) and everything he had promised himself he would do (making sure that the firm not only survived the name change but continued to be one of New York City's top firms to show her that he could be the man that she thought he could be). _Oh, Donna!_

"Is it too late to celebrate?" he heard suddenly. The voice was unmistakable. _Donna's_. He opened his eyes instantly, finding her standing next to him, with a small smile on her lips.

Instead of replying to her question, Harvey interrogated her: "How did you…"

"Know where you were hiding?" she finished the sentence for him. Harvey nodded and she continued: "You once told me that you liked to spend time here when you were feeling nostalgic. You were not at the firm, nor at your place so I figured you were probably here… And I was right." She shrugged as if it was no big deal and sat down on the bench next to him (but not too close).

He was still in shock that Donna was there. He vividly recalled the moment a few years ago when he had confessed missing his father and finding comfort in the solitude of the small park near his condo. He would have been embarrassed if he hadn't been so glad to see her. He was feeling nostalgic a minute ago, as she had guessed. Not anymore. Finally snapping out of his dazed state, he realized that it was probably his turn to talk. There were so many things that he wanted to tell her (and so many things that he wanted to hear from her) but he settled on answering her initial question: "I'm afraid that we have missed our reservation at Del Posto", he declared. Then, with hope in his voice, he added: "But we can still celebrate if you want." _Smooth, Specter. Smooth._

"Yeah? What do you have in mind?"

 _Oh, things that probably wouldn't be appropriate for me to say out loud!_ "Come on, I know the place. It's just around the corner", he replied, more confidently than he felt. Donna followed him and they walked to their destination in silence. Relief washed over him. Donna was finally back. _You can breathe now. She's here. She hasn't forgotten._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When they entered the small coffee shop, Donna was puzzled. A coffee shop was the last place where she was expecting to find herself with Harvey to celebrate their work anniversary.

"It's not Del Posto but we can still have pastries and pretend it's our dessert after a delicious meal. What do you say?"

"I say "they'd better be good!""

Harvey smiled. _Donna is teasing me again. She's feeling comfortable enough to tease me again!_ He breathed consciously once more, that time in an attempt to temper his giddiness. He needed to appear as cool as a cucumber, not look like a lovesick teenager who's on a first date with the hottest girl in town. He also needed to stop thinking about first dates with Donna or how hot she was. But it was proven difficult when the last six weeks had made abundantly clear what _his_ "more" was. He had indeed time to think about the future and Donna was at the center of the life that he envisioned for himself. _Keep your cool, Specter. Stay in the moment._

"Harvey! You brought a friend!" the barista greeted them or, more exactly, greeted him, while grinning at the two of them.

Donna was totally taken by surprise ( _Who is this woman? How does she know Harvey?_ ) and felt weird under the stranger's scrutinizing eye ( _Why is she looking at me like she's examining me?_ ).

"Hey, Kayla. How are you?"

"Good, thank you. The usual?"

"Yes, please."

"What about your friend? The same?"

Donna wasn't 100% certain but she thought that she detected a hint of amusement in the way that the barista said "friend", as if she knew that they were more than just friends and was making fun of Harvey for having a "friend" with him. Donna felt like her mind wasn't quick enough to process things around her. _He knows her name? Harvey I-never-remember-a-name Specter knows her name?! And since when does he have an usual order at a place that's_ not _the coffee cart near the firm? Besides, what's "the usual"?_ So many questions and no answers: she didn't like it at all. "Yes, I'll have the same, thank you", she replied nonetheless, not knowing what Harvey was having exactly.

"With whipped cream too?"

Once again, Donna thought that her tone was not so innocent as the question suggested. She noticed Harvey in the corner of her eye, purposefully avoiding her gaze. Uncomfortable herself, she could only nod her consent. That was definitely _not_ what she was expecting when she had decided to look for him earlier that evening.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A couple of minutes later, they were sitting at a table across from each other. Harvey lifted his mug of hot chocolate and solemnly said: "To 13 years."

"To lucky 13", Donna altered his words slightly and brought her mug to his for a proper cheer.

"To be honest with you, Donna, until you showed up, I didn't find anything lucky about today…"

Donna was thrown off by his blunt honesty. _One more point for Specter in the "Unexpected" column!_ "I only returned to New York City this afternoon", she defended herself lamely.

Harvey chose to ignore the fact that she could have texted him back sooner. "How was Connecticut?" he asked instead.

Donna looked at him intently and was pleased to see that he held up her gaze. "Connecticut was good", she answered then added because she was too curious: "Did you speak with Rachel? Or Mike?"

He muttered his response: "Mike".

Donna nodded in return and decided to joke about it, because at that point, she was about to laugh anyway (nervously or not, that was still to be determined): "Of course, Mike! He must be the firm's biggest gossiper!"

Harvey couldn't help but chuckle at Donna's comment. He knew that he would soon have to talk about less mundane subjects but he needed a little warm-up first and interrogating Donna about her trip seemed like the most logical topic of discussion to start with: "How did you like your yoga retreat? And before you ask, it was Louis that mentioned it to me."

Donna credited him with another point for surprising her with his question. "It was okay", she started, pondering what she was ready to reveal. "It was very relaxing", she concluded after a second of hesitation.

"Boring you mean, right?"

Donna burst out laughing. Harvey's ability to make her laugh reminded her of all the other moments when they had laughed together over the years. His sense of humour was one of the reasons why she had always found him attractive. _Among other things_. Time and space from him in the last six weeks had not changed that fact. Not trying to appear unaffected which was useless considering her immediate reaction to his comment (yes, she was still attracted to him, thank you very much!), she countered: " _You_ would have found it boring but you would have liked the outdoors. It was gorgeous! I shouldn't tell you this since you're probably going to use it against me later on, but I think I liked hiking in my spare time more than actually doing yoga…"

Harvey had no intentions of mocking Donna about her confession, at least not immediately. Not when she looked like a goddess. "You do look refreshed", he conceded, internally patting himself on the back for not blurting out what he was really thinking. "And tanned", he added for good measure. "I mean, tanned for you, you know."

 _Is Harvey rambling? That would be a first!_ She debated whether or not she should embarrass him but chose to respond to his first compliment instead: "It's amazing what a few weeks away from work can do to you. You should try it sometime. You might enjoy it too."

Harvey grinned (not like an idiot, he hoped) and continued to question her on her adventures. The conversation moved effortlessly to other issues which allowed her to catch up. Donna notably learned that the firm was going well (she was updated on the most recent cases that the firm was involved in). Then, almost nonchalantly, Harvey declared: "We hired a few people, including an assistant for you."

 _An assistant for ME?! Keep it cool, Donna. Keep it cool._ She noticed that Harvey was now eager to see her reaction. "When you said "we", do you mean you and Louis?"

"God, NO! Are you crazy? No, I asked Gretchen. As a matter of fact, she helped _me_ find a new assistant too. It's her niece. She's good. Not as intimidating as Gretchen, which is a plus, but similarly hard working and efficient."

Neither Rachel nor Mike had mentioned these developments. She filed the information about Harvey's new assistant under "To be later discussed" and got to the point: "You hired an assistant _for me_ while I was away?!"

"We assumed that you were coming back, that it was only temporary. You are coming back, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good."

"Good."

Both felt like _déjà vu_. In a good way.

"It seemed only fair that you had a person to assist you with all that you do for the firm", he argued, shrugging to downplay the importance of his words.

 _Cool, Donna._ "So, how is my new assistant? What can you tell me about her?"

"Well, first of all, it's not a woman", he corrected with a smug smile.

"My assistant is a man?!" she asked with big round eyes. _Harvey hired a man to work with ME?!_

"Yes, he is", he responded, amused by her shocked expression. "He was the most qualified candidate. And I believe you're going to enjoy working with him."

"Why?"

"You'll see on Monday", he replied enigmatically. _I hope we're right, Gretchen. Otherwise, we'll look like complete fools…_

To say that Donna was intrigued would be an understatement. She was already looking forward to returning to the firm but now that she knew that she had an assistant ( _an assistant!_ ) AND that the assistant in question was a man that Harvey had personally hired, her curiosity was barely containable.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In the hour that followed, Harvey learned more about her trip: London (amazing), Paris (too hot), Cannes (exactly what she needed), Colorado (not boring but a little lonely) and Connecticut (a perfect way to end her "journey"). She also shared that she felt ready to return to the firm, which he interpreted as "I am ready to have you back in my life". Harvey thought that she definitely looked like she wanted him back into her life: she had reached out to him, found him in his not-so-secret "refuge" and accepted his invitation to celebrate their work anniversary, albeit a little differently. What was even more telling was her body language: unguarded, seeking eye contact with him as much as possible and smiling. Another obvious indication that she had forgiven him, at least enough to sit down with him and chat: the teasing that frequently occurred during their time together. In return, Harvey explained how he had found that coffee shop one day by accident and how it had become his new favorite hangout (he wanted to cut his alcohol consumption anyway and it provided a nice alternative). He revealed that he had a new therapist, an old man recommended by Louis' therapist no less, and that he thought that he was helpful. He went over his breakup with Paula relatively fast, focussing on the essential: he had broken up with her and he was sorry that he had even started a relationship with her. He apologized to Donna profusely for hurting her, recently and in the past. While she was recovering from Harvey's raw honesty and first signs of emotional growth, he surprised her even more by saying that he had sold most of his cars, only keeping his Aston Martin and an old Jaguar. "I have Ray anyway", he had simply offered as an explanation.

 _Okay, Specter… Our mugs are empty, the pastries eaten. Our easy banter is back and I don't think I put my foot in my mouth once. Things have gone smoothly so far but now it's time to "go big or go home." Let's go, you can do it!_ "I missed you", he confessed first. He took a deep breath and clarified: "And not because you're the best COO we could have at the firm. Granted, we would have appreciated your help with everything that happened with Jessica but _I_ missed you because…" He struggled for a second, eventually finding the right words: "Because you're you. There's no one else like you, Donna. I understand why you left though and now that you're back I hope that we can move forward." He glanced at her briefly and noticed that she was intently listening to him. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight but I had ample time to think about what I wanted to tell you when you would return", he continued quickly, unknowingly making Donna hold her breath. He paused again, exhaling imperceptibly before diving head first ( _now or never_ ): "I'm not going to tell you that I love you because last time I did disaster ensued so I'm just going to tell you this: I would like to take you out on a date…" It was his turn to hold his breath before adding: "If you want..." When he closed his mouth, he felt like his life was hanging in the balance. (Maybe because it was.)

Donna considered Harvey's words for a short moment. _Is this real?! Shall I make him suffer? Haven't_ we _suffered enough?_ Then she quietly replied: "Okay."

He frowned in disbelief. "Okay?" He had hoped that she would agree but actually hearing her accept his request was everything. _Did she just say yes?!_ Donna nodded to confirm. "Okay. Are you free tomorrow evening?"

"Huh, I actually have something planned…" She noticed Harvey's expression change immediately and made sure to complete her sentence: "with Mike and Rachel", which calmed him instantly.

"How about in the afternoon?"

"My afternoon is free."

"Can I pick you up at 1:00 pm?"

"Yes. 1:00 pm sounds perfect."


	5. As good as spies - Part 1

_Author's notes:_

 _Despite my best intentions, I totally missed my self-imposed deadline and did not post a new chapter before the return of Suits on our screens… I also missed posting before 712 (which I haven't watched yet so no spoilers please!). Once again, I decided to ignore what happened in 711/712 as well as the spoilers for the rest of the season but I included a reference to 711 (you'll recognize it when you read it). This chapter starts with their date… Enjoy and maybe leave a review :)_

"Wonder Woman? Really?" Donna interrogated Harvey. "I thought you only liked Batman", she teased him.

"I'm trying to expand my horizons", he offered lightly because that was how he felt since he had woken up that morning. Donna had agreed to go on a date with him and it was like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. And since Donna seemed to be happy to be on a date with him, he was confident enough to add: "Cheesy Harvey would tell you that it's a totally appropriate choice of movie considering who my date is."

Immediately playing along, Donna replied: "But that's not who you are."

"Definitely not. I'm trying to be Smooth Specter here," he retorted with a fake smug look.

She laughed out loud and continued their game: "So what's Smooth Specter's reason for choosing Wonder Woman?"  
"It's very simple: what's not to like with a woman who kicks everyone's ass and rules the world?" Harvey finished his explanation with an expectant smile. He hoped that his choice of movie was correct. As far as he knew, superheroes were not her thing but Wonder Woman should be the exception, right?

Donna smiled back. "Fair point, Specter."

Harvey's smile was instantly wider. _Please call me Smooth Specter!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The movie had been great. Harvey knew it would be great. Not only because of the premise of the movie that he had so smoothly told Donna about. No, he knew because he had seen it already. He wasn't sure whether to share that detail with Donna or not. He had seen Wonder Woman a few weeks before when he was missing her terribly and needed a distraction. He had exited the movie theatre that night thinking about "his" Wonder Woman and hoping that their future would be less tragic than the one depicted in the film for Diana and Steve. When had come the time to decide on an activity for their date, Wonder Woman had been an obvious choice. Besides, a movie would prevent him from saying things that he would regret (or not saying things that he should). Their little celebration the night before had gone well but Harvey didn't want to take any chances and a movie was safer in that respect. Wanting to stay away from awkward silences after the movie, he settled for another piece of information: "I must confess that you're only the second girl or woman that I've ever invited to a movie." Before Donna could start to be offended by his declaration, he continued: "I was fifteen, she was thirteen."

Suddenly amused, Donna encouraged him: "Please, tell me more!"

"Well, I was young and stupid… And before you say it, I'm going to say it myself: not much has changed!"

"Well, you're not as young now", she interjected jokingly.

"Ha! You're hilarious."

"One of my many qualities!"

He gave her a pointed look but couldn't argue with her. It was a known fact that she possessed many qualities. "Going back to my disastrous date…"

"Was it disastrous? You should have started with that!" Her eyes were even more mischievous now.

"Ha ha… So I thought a horror movie was a good idea. In my defense, I went through a phase when I watched a lot of horror movies. Anyway, instead of finding refuge in my arms like I had hoped she would if she was afraid…"

"Smooth, Specter. Smooth!" _Not_.

Harvey chuckled at his younger self. "In theory, at least. In practice, she was so scared that she asked me to leave. I don't think we lasted 45 minutes. And after, every time I saw her in school, she always had the same expression of terror. I don't know if it's because she was reminded of the movie or because she was embarrassed of her reaction but in any case, it wasn't good. Needless to say, there was no second date…"

"Oh. My. God. That's the best story I've ever heard about you!" Donna was laughing so hard that she had tears in her eyes. She wasn't even exaggerating: none of the stories that Gordon had told her back in the days beat that one. Instead of becoming emotional which tended to happen when she thought about Harvey's late father (it was also probably the case for Harvey), she redirected the conversation to something lighter: "So, me not leaving mid-way through the movie…"

"Is a big win for me", he completed for her, showing Donna his most charming grin.

"I see that you had very high expectations for our date then!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After pondering for the duration of their walk back to her apartment how to address the issue that was nagging at her, she decided to go straight to the point once they were in front of her building: "I don't think we should mention that we're dating to anyone at the firm."

Harvey felt his heart skip a beat when he heard Donna say "we're dating" and stared at her for a second in order to make sure that he had read the situation correctly. Donna's comment took him a little by surprise and he relied on his favorite defense mechanism first, humour, because focusing on the "dating" part was overwhelming (in a _very good_ way but still). "Why? You're afraid it would totally ruin your credibility as a Shakespeare fan to admit that you've seen Wonder Woman?"

Donna giggled and Harvey breathed more comfortably. His joke had not been interpreted as a way to avoid the topic, rather it was his attempt to use banter to alleviate the tension (and flirt a little bit at the same time). "That too. Seriously, Rachel, Mike, Louis… God, Louis! If they knew… I mean, they're already so…" Surprisingly, words were eluding her at that moment.

Unsurprisingly, Harvey still understood and completed the sentence for her: "Invested?"

"Yes, exactly! They're already so invested that I don't think it's a good idea for us to share _that_." Her _that_ was emphasized by her hand motioning between Harvey and her in a back and forth motion. _That_ was them dating. She had said it once but didn't seem to be able to repeat it.

"I agree. Imagine Louis finding out!"

"He would need a day!" They laughed together at the idea. "Have you told them anything?"

"Me? No!" Harvey almost looked indignant. "You know me, I don't talk unless I'm forced to!"

"I didn't say anything either", she replied quietly. "They suspect that something happened but they don't know what, so I think if we play it cool, keep a low profile, they'll leave us alone."

"You're suggesting that we just act professional?"

"Yes. Friendly maybe even. But flirting and innuendos are totally off limits."

"No flirting. No innuendos. I can do that."

"Can you? Are you really up for the challenge, Harvey?"

"I thought we agreed on no innuendos", he teased her.

"Only when we're around people from work", she retorted playfully. "So, are you up for the challenge?"

"You're kidding me, right? My poker face is completely unreadable. James Bond has nothing on me!"

Harvey was so sure of himself that Donna relaxed instantly. They could be professional at work and date outside of work without anyone noticing. They could totally sell it. "That's settled then. They don't need to know that we went to a movie together." She paused for a second before continuing a little nervously: "Or that we're planning on having another date."

"We're planning another date now?" _Please confirm that there will be another date!_

"Unless you're too embarrassed after our first date." _You don't look embarrassed._

"No, not at all. I mean, we finished the movie together. Diana Prince/Wonder Woman is a badass. The popcorn was good. It definitely warrants another date! What about lunch sometime this week?"

"Yes, lunch would be great."

"Okay then. I'll talk to you later. Enjoy your time with Mike and Rachel. I would tell you to say hi for me but then that would defeat the purpose…"

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, Harvey."  
"See you tomorrow, Donna."

When Donna made her way to her apartment, she regretted that hugging was not something that they usually did. Had it been Rachel, Mike or even Louis, they would have hugged after an afternoon spent together outside of work. Without having to think about it. But it was Harvey and since "the other time" they had carefully steered clear of all physical contact, lest they combust if they did.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A tall and slim blond man with a short and stylish haircut welcome Donna when she arrived at the office the next morning. He was in his late twenties, early thirties maybe. Blue suit (perfectly tailored), white shirt and a tie with bright colors.

"Donna Paulsen? I'm David Patterson, your new assistant. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise, David" Donna replied, unfamiliar with the concept of having an assistant there to assist _her_ , yet completely ready to get used to it. She noticed his genuine smile and felt comfortable immediately.

He let Donna enter her office first then said: "Here are the files that will probably keep you busy for the next few days."

Donna let her purse fall on her chair and took the pile of folders that he handed her. Now looking at her desk, she eyed a large rectangular object wrapped in brown paper that was currently occupying most of the surface.

"And that would be from your next-door neighbour." For only response, Donna stared at him and David exited the office as quickly as he had entered it, adding: "I'll let you settle. I'll be back in a couple of minutes with your coffee."

Donna's gaze followed the man. _My assistant_. Her first impression of him was good. His smile seemed genuine. She now understood why Harvey hadn't been reluctant to hire a man to work for her. She imagined what their initial interactions would have been and smirked. She only had time to sit down and briefly glanced at the files ready to demand her full attention that David was back with a mug.

"I hope you like it", he eagerly declared.

Donna took a small sip, careful not to burn herself. "It's… perfect. Thank you." She paused, frankly surprised. "How did you know…"

"How you like your coffee?" he finished for her. Donna nodded. "I spent my first days as an employee of the firm learning how to make the perfect coffee for you. At least, that's what Harvey told me. So, if it's not to your liking, you should totally blame him and not me!"

David was witty and not afraid of Harvey. The more she knew him, the more she liked him.

"I love your dress by the way", he said before taking his leave.

Another point in his favor, Donna thought.

When she was sure that she wouldn't be disturbed, Donna opened the envelope that was attached to the large present on her desk. The note inside was in Harvey's handwriting and said:

 _Welcome back, Donna!_

 _I never got you anything to celebrate your promotion to COO… I hope you like it!_

 _Love,_

 _H_

Donna took a deep breath and impatiently waited for Harvey to arrive at the office to thank him. _Oh Harvey, you're making it really difficult for me not to fall for you._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Harvey knocked on her door and entered the office when she nodded her approval. He closed the door behind him. "Good morning, Donna. I see that you have found my gift…"

"Yes. Thank you, Harvey. Is it…?" _Our diner? The place where things happen outside the firm?_

"Yes", he answered with a shy smile. _She looks pleased with it, thank god._

"Did _you_ take the picture?"

"Huh, no…", he chuckled. "If I had taken the picture, you would have ended up with a selfie of me in front of the diner and one of my goofy expressions… I wasn't sure you would appreciate it for your office."

"Yeah, it might not have said "COO", right?"

"Right. So, instead, I hired a professional photographer and voilà!"

"Thank you, Harvey."

"You're very welcome, Donna. But don't feel obliged to hang it in your office. I won't be offended if you don't…"

Donna smiled. "Oh, I've already found the perfect place for it. If you want to come and help me later…"

"That would be my pleasure", he replied with a warm smile that Donna returned.

"I have something for you too, Harvey."

"Oh yeah?"

Donna thought that Harvey's expression was probably identical to the one he had as a kid on Christmas morning. She didn't stop to consider what it meant that the thought popped in her head at that moment. "Two things actually that I got in London. I didn't see the exhibit but I visited the store attached to the London Film Museum. It was all about James Bond vehicles."

"You're serious?! I'm so jealous now!"

Donna chuckled. "I knew you would be so I brought you little mementos." She opened her first drawer and took a small wrapped present, handing it to Harvey with expectant eyes.

He opened it quickly and grinned, recognizing the reference immediately. "Nice! Thank you, Donna."

"I also brought you this", she added almost nonchalantly, ready to witness Harvey's reaction.

Harvey opened the second item and wrinkled his brow in confusion. His favorite James Bond was inside but in a slightly different form than usual. He looked at Donna who was staring at him with an amused smirk. "I've never seen anything like that in my life… Thanks, I guess."

Donna giggled, pleased of her unexpected gift. "As a matter of fact, when I saw him in the store, I could not _not_ buy it. He made me think of you."

"Why? Because he's weird? Or because he's so handsome?"

"No because he wears a suit and he has a big head!" she retorted. "He kind of became my travelling companion. He followed me from London to Paris, to Cannes, then back to the States. I would put him on my bedside table and talk to him sometimes."

"You two seem very close. Should I be jealous that you like him so much?" he joked. _A little teasing is okay behind closed doors, right?_

"What's not to like? Look at him. Isn't he cute?" _You're on the verge of flirting here, Donna. Careful._

"You think I'm cute?" _She told me not to flirt at work. Why is she flirting with me then? I'm not completely opposed but…_

She shook her head and smiled. _I walked right into that one_. "I think James here is cute", she defended herself, quite elegantly regaining the upper hand.

"Well, I didn't have any little figurine to keep me company while you were gone", he declared. "Maybe I should have got one for myself. But if I'm James Bond, who would _you_ be?" He paused for a second to think. "A Bond girl?" he asked, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

"In your dreams, Specter", she retorted. _If you knew what my dreams are about, Donna. If you only knew…_ "If you're James Bond, I am M of course", she replied totally seriously.

He considered her response as seriously and said: "Well, you can be M but you totally have the body of a Bond girl." She blushed and tried not to let Harvey's words affect her too much. She recovered in time for Harvey's next question: "Now that we've established that you're M, who's Money Penny?"

They thought about it for a short moment, then both exclaimed in unison: "David!"

Donna and Harvey's loud laughs made David turn his head in their direction. He had questioned if Donna was more than a regular colleague to Harvey during his job interview, just by the way Harvey spoke about her. There was something close to reverence in his voice, plus a little twinkle in his eyes that only appeared when the COO was mentioned. It was further suspected when he had spent his first few days trying to get her coffee order just right, enduring Harvey's incessant instructions and feedback as if he had been hired as a barista. He glanced once again in their direction, observing without being noticed. Seeing the two of them now, despite the totally professional distance between them, only confirmed that they were more than colleagues. He wasn't sure how much more but he knew that there was something more. He just knew. He had recently met Donna in person but after hearing different people speak about her and finally meeting her, he was totally on Donna's side. He was happy that she was his boss (technically Harvey was his "real" boss but Donna was his direct superior). His mind went back to the two persons sitting in the bright office. _They would make a beautiful couple._ _Not that it's any of my business…_

Unaware of David's gaze on them, Donna and Harvey concluded their first meeting at work in over six weeks: "Are you going to display Funko James in your office? For everyone to see?"

"I already have a picture of me as a kid with a big weird animal. I can deal with James here."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

On Thursday of the same week, Donna and Harvey had finally found a time that worked for their lunch date. On Tuesday, Donna had taken David to lunch (to know him better) and on Wednesday, Harvey had a work meeting that was added to his schedule, which led to Thursday being THE day. They tried to leave the firm without being detected and they almost succeeded but were caught while they were waiting for the elevator.

 _So close… That's not really keeping a low profile. Donna won't be impressed._ "Louis! How are you doing?"

"Good. Thanks for asking, Harvey. Hungry in fact. Where are you two going?" Louis looked at Harvey, then Donna, then back at Harvey.

 _Shit. We were almost gone._ Donna knew that if she hesitated for one second too long, Louis would suspect something so she opted for the truth, albeit a partial one: "We're going out. For lunch." Donna pleaded with Harvey silently. _Help me!_

"Yeah, I've been wanting to touch base with Donna, make sure her return to work goes smoothly but with our busy schedules, it was difficult to find a time so we decided to have a business meeting over lunch."

 _Good job, Harvey! Now my turn to sell it._ "Yes, with the recent changes at the firm, it's important to be on the same page."

"That's great. I haven't had lunch yet, maybe I should join you as the other name partner?"

 _Here goes our date…_ "Excellent idea, Louis! I was just about to ask you if you wanted to."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what's the first item on the agenda?"

To Donna's relief, Harvey answered: "Well, we could start by talking about David. How is he doing?"

"David? Who's David?" _Donna would have told me if she was seeing someone, right?_

"David Patterson, Donna's new assistant."

"Right. Sorry." _That makes more sense._ _I knew there wasn't another man!_

For the next 15 minutes, Harvey and Donna discussed David's work so far. Harvey looked like the managing partner that he was. As for Donna, she couldn't stop gushing about her new assistant ("he complimented my dress again today"), so much so that Louis had to ask: "I'm glad that you like him, Donna, but I hope that he's not inappropriate in his interactions with you. He's not flirting with you, is he? Because sexual harassment in the workplace is more prevalent than we think and often goes unreported."

"Don't worry, Louis. David is definitely _not_ flirting with me." _But someone else at work is or wants to! He's tall, handsome and happens to be the firm's managing partner._

And because Louis Litt didn't always rhyme with subtlety, Harvey specified: "Louis, you know that David is gay, right?"

 _David is gay?! That explains why Harvey is so chill about the whole situation._ "Yes, yes, of course!" he replied, exaggerating his offended expression.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I am so sorry for our lunch date, Donna."

She shrugged. "We tried to escape but inviting Louis to lunch was our only option." She was disappointed too but was proud of Harvey for the way that he had handled the sudden change of plan and happy to see how far the two men had come. _Maybe this firm has a future after all._

"Since our date was hijacked by Louis, maybe we can try it again? Alone this time." Donna smiled and he continued: "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Sadly, no. I have a date with Rachel tomorrow."

"Okay… Saturday evening then?"

"We're going to see each other on Saturday evening but we won't be alone…"

"Damn! Mike's birthday." Donna nodded and Harvey groaned. "And I'm not available on Sunday because Mike and I are going to a Yankees game. I've arranged the surprise with Rachel."

"He'll be happy", Donna smiled. "Going back to our challenging schedules, I'm free Saturday afternoon", she offered quietly.

Harvey shook his head and chuckled. "Me too. Let's pretend we're teenagers again, only allowed to go out during the day!" Donna giggled. "Since I picked what we did last time, now it's your turn to decide what we do."

"There's this Shakespeare exhibit that recently opened up… Would you be interested in it or is it too much for you?"

"As long as you're there with me to explain everything, I'll be fine."

"Okay then. Before you go, I must tell you that David thinks you dress very well too. His only criticism was that he would go with more colours."

Harvey scoffed. "I hope he realizes that I don't pay him for styling advice."

"Says the man who forced him to work on my coffee order for days!"

"I wanted him to make a good first impression", Harvey defended himself lamely.

"You made a good impression, not him", Donna rectified him with a warm smile.

"He wasn't supposed to tell you that", he mumbled.

"As if I wouldn't suspect that you were behind one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had… Besides, he hasn't talked to anyone about it, just me. He's loyal to me. That's a good thing, right?"

"It is", he finally conceded and returned her smile shyly. _"One of the best cups of coffee I've ever had": that sounds familiar._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey was right: with Donna by his side, an exhibition about Shakespeare was not so bad. Actually, if he was completely honest, it was a fun experience. She knew so much about the great English writer (and about theatre in general) that he thoroughly enjoyed his afternoon. Granted, his personal guide was probably the main reason behind his sudden interest in everything Shakespeare but he nonetheless learned a lot. Towards the end, he stopped in front of a picture taken during a performance of A Midsummer's Night Dream and read out loud the quote that was written underneath it: "The course of true love never did run smooth."

Donna's shoulder bumped lightly against his. She managed to hide her smirk before asking: "Do you like this quote?"

Harvey paused to contemplate Shakespeare's words then declared: "I must say that William might have a point."

"I'm glad that you share William's wisdom", she said softly, turning her head to make eye contact with the lawyer.

Harvey expected her comment and/or facial expression to show sarcasm but was surprised to notice that it wasn't the case. What he noticed instead was Donna getting closer to him and the back of her hand gently touching his. He kept his eyes on her and swallowed.

"Donna? Donna Paulsen?"

Their moment was broken by an intruder that Donna recognized immediately: "Daniel?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey's annoyance at the interruption was soon replaced by amusement when he realized that Daniel knew Donna from university and that he had a ton of secrets about her that he was willing to reveal to the group, the group being him, Donna, Harvey and his husband, Philip. The four of them went for a drink at a nearby establishment where Donna and Daniel monopolized the conversation to catch up on their lives after Daniel had left the East Coast to relocate in California soon after graduation. Harvey excused himself at some point to take a call from Louis and when Philip took the opportunity to go to the bathroom, the former inseparable pair was suddenly alone and able to discuss freely. Donna started first: "So Phil, is it the same Phil that you followed to Stanford?"

"Yes, the one and only. He's now Dr. Phil! He hates it when I call him that." He chuckled. "He specialized in emergency medicine."

"Wow. I can't believe it!" Donna considered the length of her friend's relationship with his now husband and braced herself for the questioning that was sure to come next, while keeping her gaze on Harvey who was talking animatedly on the sidewalk.

Daniel didn't disappoint: "So… I remember you telling me about your new boss, a certain Harvey… If I remember correctly, you told me that he was smart and ambitious and when I asked you if he was hot, you answered, and I quote, "that's not the point". Do you want to revisit that statement? Because from what I can see right now, I bet he wasn't ugly then…"

Donna shrugged. "I wasn't blind if that's what you're asking", Donna responded.

"And…"

"And I knew that he was attracted to me. He made it abundantly clear at the time. But I didn't let us go there because we were working together."

"Why? Why not? Aren't you working together now?" When Donna nodded, Daniel continued his interrogation: "So you're saying it never happened until recently?"

"Technically, nothing happened recently… We're just taking things slow. It's only our second real date." _God, this is ridiculous. It's not like it's our first relationship. Well, maybe it's the first that really counts._

"You're dating and taking things slow, okay… But you never answered my initial question: nothing happened between you two in all the years that you've known each other?!"

"Well, we temporarily stopped working together before we went to the firm…"

"Ha! I knew it! So what changed recently?"

Donna sighed and offered: "The timing finally seems right."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been a crazy week with no lunch dates for Donna and Harvey. To make things worse, they had planned on going out on Friday evening but Harvey had to cancel at the last minute because a new case had fallen on his desk and, instead of being on a date with Donna, he was currently sharing his office with Mike and Rachel. They were sitting around his coffee table, going over various documents and taking notes occasionally. It was supposed to be a simple case but when the client disclosed additional details, they were required to totally revise their strategy. It was getting late, Harvey was hungry and frustrated (about work _and_ his aborted date with Donna). They were missing something. His thoughts took him to his initial plans with the redhead and inspiration struck: "Donna might be able to help", he exclaimed out of the blue.

As if on cue, said redhead entered Harvey's office. "Help with what?"

Harvey gave her a smile as she made her way closer to them. A very platonic smile, he hoped. Mike and Rachel stared at her then looked at each other, silently communicating: _Donna to the rescue!_ (Mike) and _Perfect timing, Donna!_ (Rachel).

Without preamble, Harvey asked: "Do you remember the Weber case?"

"I hope it's a rhetorical question, Harvey. Otherwise I would say that you're trying to insult me." _Don't over do it, Donna. Friendly, that's all._

"Rhetorical question. 100%." _I think we're killing the platonic banter._

In the next 10 minutes, Harvey brought Donna up to date and with a couple of key questions she got a good idea of what they needed. Another ten minutes later, she was back in Harvey's office with a large box containing all the files for the Weber case plus some extra files from other cases that might help them. The Weber case was before Mike's time. It was even before Rachel joined the firm. Donna sat down with them around the coffee table and got to work in tandem with Harvey. Mike and Rachel redirected their efforts as soon as Harvey had explained the situation and discreetly examined their friends from time to time. Watching the two of them in action when they were in the zone, totally oblivious to the outside world, was like watching a tennis match, an amazing tennis match with two equally talented players, except that there were no losers in that instance. They were both winners in creating something magical. Mike wondered when Harvey and Donna had started to inspire poetry. He concluded that it was all their fault for being a wonderful duo.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They ate together quickly and when Donna had done what she could for the case, she decided to leave so that it didn't look suspect. She said her goodbyes and exited the office to get ready to go home. A few minutes later, thinking that Donna had already left, Harvey took a break to walk a little bit and clear his head in the process. Donna's help that evening had been a godsend. She always knew how to assist him best and, on that particular case, her help had been invaluable. He totally supported her promotion but still missed how efficiently they could work together. Donna's presence, however, also put his senses in high alert. While it was good for work (he was sharper with her by his side), it was also extremely dangerous. He congratulated himself for his self-control with Mike and Rachel around. He had indeed perfectly avoided reaching out to touch her hand or flirting (both constituting legitimate risks after regular office hours). _We need to keep a low profile._ He was still happy that he had been able to spend his evening with Donna, even if it was considerably less satisfying than their date would have been. His internal musings were unexpectedly interrupted when he saw Donna standing in the firm's entrance, waiting for the elevator. Feeling suddenly shy, he cleared his throat and asked: "So quick lunch tomorrow before your sister arrives?"

Donna nodded. "Absolutely." She glanced at him and found herself lost in his eyes. She too seemed to realize that they were alone for the first time since their last date.

Harvey was the one who broke the spell. "What's the special occasion that requires her to go shopping with her favorite sister anyway?"

"It's for her anniversary", she answered simply.

"Work anniversary?" Harvey suggested, amusement in his voice.

Donna chuckled. _Of course, he would think about that first._ "Wedding anniversary", she corrected. "You know, not everybody celebrates their work anniversary like we do."

"Their loss", he replied quietly. He felt the air around them grow thick. He checked behind him. The corridors were empty. No signs of Mike and Rachel. He swallowed again, with more difficulty that time. _I could kiss you right now, Donna. I want to so much._

The sound of the elevator burst their bubble and Donna reluctantly entered the metal box. She turned on her heels to face him and saw his gaze burn with desire. _Me too, Harvey. Me too._ "Good night, Harvey", she smiled weakly.

Instead of returning her smile and/or wish her a good night, Harvey surprised her by leaping inside the elevator before the doors closed. He suddenly stood in front of her. Close. Very close. He hesitated for a fraction of a second and let his right hand cup her cheek while his left hand touched her waist, his eyes never leaving hers. He had time to think that the temperature had risen rapidly before pressing his lips on hers in a tender kiss that was stopped too early to Donna's liking. "I'm sorry, I couldn't wait anymore", he explained, his forehead against hers and his breath mingling with hers in the most tantalizing way.

His words combined with the sensation of his lips on hers ignited a spark that made her finally react. Her arms quickly wrapped around his neck, her fingers moved to his hair and she found his lips to kiss him with an urgency that only seemed to increase with the elevator's descent. Taken by the intensity of their kiss they never heard the elevator arrive on the ground floor, nor the doors close with them still inside, which is why they both jumped when the door opened one more time and they heard a male voice.

"I'm _so_ sorry. I thought there was a problem with the elevator." The security guard, in his diligence, had interrupted something that he clearly wasn't supposed to witness.

Donna was the first one to recover and took pity on the older man. She casually patted Harvey on the chest, not at all like she had been caught kissing her boss seconds before, and looked at the building's employee in the eye. "Good evening, Alfred."

"Good evening, Donna", he replied, breathing a little more easily. "Mr. Specter", he added as he briefly glanced at the other man. Harvey nodded. T _hat's embarrassing!_ Fortunately, Alfred swiftly left them to return to his desk in the entrance of the edifice.

"You're on first name basis with the security guard… I don't even know why I'm surprised!"

Donna shrugged and held his gaze. "I'm not going to apologize for who I am."

Harvey shook his head and grinned then he captured her lips once more, just because it looked like he could now. _Please don't change, Donna. Don't ever change._

When they reluctantly put an end to their kiss and a little distance between their bodies, Donna spoke: "You'd better go before they wonder where you disappeared… We need to maintain our cover as strictly business partners."

Harvey snorted. _Some kind of business partners!_ "Still good for lunch tomorrow? We can continue to develop our business partnership then." _Ha!_ _I'm so funny._

"Definitely. Good night, Harvey." _He thinks he's so funny._

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Donna." _Wow! Just WOW!_

Donna smiled as the door closed on an equally smiling Harvey.


	6. As good as spies - Part 2

_Author's notes: I am so sorry about the delay but it's a long chapter to hopefully make up for it! What did you guys think of the finale? I kind of liked where Harvey and Donna were when the episode ended but we'll have to see how the show picks up when Season 8 starts…_

 _Saturday, August 19, 2017_

Despite what had happened between her and Harvey recently, and the night before in particular, Donna entered the establishment with a knot in her stomach. The location of their lunch date probably amplified her current state of frayed nerves. _Their diner._ Memories of their first time there flooded her. On top of things, he had texted his exact place five minutes earlier ("In our booth"). _What if he regretted it?_ _What if he pretended that nothing happened?_ And then she saw his smile and relaxed instantly. A smile that lightened up his entire face. A smile that reminded her of a younger Harvey, a more care-free Harvey. _Maybe he wouldn't want to go back today after all._ As soon as he had sensed her nearby, he had indeed glanced up from his phone, showing how pleased he was by her sudden presence. He stood up when she approached the booth and simply kissed her. On the mouth. He could have given her a friendly kiss on the cheek. He could have opted for a kiss on the corner of her mouth: more telling but more uncertain on his part. He chose to kiss her on the lips. A real, _normal_ kiss. Like it was a normal occurrence between them, which it wasn't. At all. And yet. _Definitely not going back._

Yes, Harvey Specter had kissed Donna Paulsen on the lips like he could have done so many years ago when he had instead proposed her to join him at the firm. In return, she had enforced her rule, _The Other Time_ eventually becoming a moment that he tried hard not to remember (and failed repeatedly). He could have been disappointed in or annoyed by his former self but he was now both relieved and happy. Relieved that he was finally doing something to change the status quo between them. Colleagues, friends: it was good but he wanted more. Happy that she was on the same page as him. She was smiling, visibly delighted that he had greeted her with a kiss. It was too short, especially as compared to their kiss (or kisses) the night before. But the message was clear: I don't want to go back.

"You were almost late", Harvey playfully admonished her.

It was true, Donna was almost late because she couldn't decide on something to wear for her lunch date with Harvey, not that she would ever tell Harvey. She had eventually opted for white pants with a dark blue and white sleeveless top (and high heels, of course). "Excuse me, I don't have a private chauffeur like you. And I'm early by one minute if my phone is correct!"

Harvey smiled. _She's right. She's never late. She's Donna. Everything about her is flawless. Come on, Specter. Get a grip!_ "I barely made it", Harvey confessed, thinking that it was useless to try to argue with Donna, especially in that visible state of awe. "Mike and Rachel invited me to lunch. I had to tell them that I had seen them enough in the last 24 hours and that I didn't want to see them before Monday."

"So, basically, you pretended to be Grumpy Harvey to get rid of them?"

"Yep. It worked like a charm!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They just had lunch together and it didn't feel nearly enough. She had indeed vastly underestimated the aftermath of their most recent kiss (kisses?) and the effect of all the burning glances that Harvey kept sending her way in the last hour and a half. Donna loved her sister but she wished that she could spend the rest of her day with Harvey. He was much more tempting than an afternoon of shopping. _Wait a second! When did I start favoring something (or someone) over shopping?!_ She exhaled and tried to enjoy the moment. It was warm and sunny with a little breeze that made the temperature totally bearable, an absolutely perfect Summer day in New York City. And yet, she was feeling less than perfect at the moment. On edge would probably be the best way to describe her current emotion. Or terribly horny, depending on how honest she wanted to be. If they kissed with abandon in front of her apartment building, nobody that they knew witnessed it. If her sister had seen them, maybe she would have proposed that they rescheduled immediately. Alas, she arrived five minutes later as Donna was alone, hoping that her lips were not betraying what she had been doing earlier and chuckling quietly to herself at the most recent changes in her life: Harvey, them dating, them kissing, them wanting to do more than just kissing… Except for one instance two months ago, she had been perfectly capable of working with Harvey and being in his vicinity without losing control and letting her libido get the better of her. Two months ago, everything changed with one simple kiss, a small event as compared to what they had already done together (The Other Time) but with big consequences. Consequences that led them to be now unable to keep their hands off each other.

Donna finally broke their kiss and cleared her throat. "Are you going back to the firm?" Because however "on edge" or "horny" she might feel, she still had a (small) part of her brain functioning.

"No. I have what I need with me. I'm going to finish from home."

"Don't spend all your Saturday working, Harvey", she suggested with a gentle tone.

"Hearing you, one would think you're my boss", he retorted playfully.

Donna rolled her eyes and kissed him one last time on the lips before entering her building and leaving a very aroused (yet smiling) Harvey on the pavement.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey really needed to catch up. One minute he was working distractedly on his laptop and the next Donna was kissing him. More precisely, one minute he was exchanging text messages with Donna ("Please tell me you're not working". His reply, a guilty "oops" and an attachment (a picture of his coffee table with part of his computer screen and a few files) was met with disapproval: "You're incorrigible." "I'm alone" was what he thought but didn't dare to write back, simply content that at least Donna was thinking about him.) and 12 minutes later she was knocking on his front door AND kissing him. He knew that it was 12 minutes later exactly as he had checked his phone then, fearing that he had missed a message announcing her surprise visit (he hadn't). What initially happened when he opened the door strangely felt like déjà vu with Donna wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him on the lips AND apologizing. But the similarities stopped when Donna said: "I don't want to wait anymore." He needed to catch up because Donna had an obvious agenda (while he was still trying to understand what was going on): Donna in front of him, kissing him, saying that she didn't want to wait anymore. _Wait! What?!_ He repeated Donna's words in his head: "I don't want to wait anymore." _I don't want to wait anymore either!_ And with that, he finally caught up: he grabbed her by the waist and pushed the door behind her with more force than necessary, guiding her inside his condo blindly and kissing her passionately. They made their way to the bedroom, half making out, half laughing at their own eagerness. Once in the bedroom, Donna took a second to look at her surroundings and her gaze fell on the bed.

"It's new", he offered before she asked, taking advantage of her distracted look and of her exposed neck to leave a trail of wet kisses there. She moaned at the sensation as he added between kisses: "I got new sheets too."

She hummed at the comments about his bed and made a mental note to inquire about it later. _Not the time._ Then she returned her attention to Harvey and noticed how he was dressed: bright blue and orange New York Knicks shorts and a crimson "Harvard Law School" tee-shirt. "Nice outfit", she said, smirking to emphasize the sarcasm of her comment. "Are you always so colorful when you work from home?!"

He raised one of his eyebrows to challenge her: "Did you come all the way here to criticize my clothes?!"

"No", she replied quietly, her eyes never leaving his and her smirk morphing into a suggestive smile. "I came all the way here to take them off", she added with finality in her voice, putting words into action and swiftly removing the shirt from his body. Too impatient to let Harvey recover from her witticism and subsequent move, she got rid of her top herself. Harvey groaned at the sight in front of him: Donna wearing a lacy cream-colored bra and revealing almost all of her upper-body to him. It was like a jolt of electricity sent directly to his heart. What followed was a mix of desperation and lust that overtook them at the speed of lightning. Very few intelligible words were exchanged next, with some exceptions:

"God, I want you so much!" (Harvey, a little out of breath, while they were working in tandem to get rid of the rest of their clothes)

"Why do you think I'm here?" (Donna, equally out of breath but always capable of a well-timed retort)

"Good?" (Harvey, seconds after entering her)

"Good." (Donna, seconds after reconnecting with Harvey intimately)

"God, Donna." (Harvey, obviously)

"I know." (Donna, obviously)

What wasn't said but could have been said by either one of them (or what they both knew):

 _It feels so good._

 _I'm not going to last long._

 _I love you._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They stayed next to each other in comfortable silence for a good minute lying on their back and slowly recovering (physically and emotionally) from the intensity of the moment that they had just shared. In an ideal world, their first "second time" wouldn't have been so brief but they didn't seem to care because they were pretty satisfied with their real world right now.

Harvey turned on his side to face Donna who mirrored his position on the bed. "So", he started with a grin.

"So", repeated Donna with a smile of her own. She could see it: comedy was all over his face so she prepared for a funny remark from him.

"How is your sister?" Harvey asked as if they were just in a middle of a regular conversation, and not both naked in his bed, seconds after making love for the first time in over a decade.

Donna laughed out loud and got closer to him. Despite expecting something humorous from Harvey, she was totally taken by surprise by his question. _My sister?!_ "She's good. She says "hi" by the way!"

"Hi back, Julia", Harvey replied with a wave. "I thought she was supposed to be in town until tomorrow…"

"Yeah, she decided to change her plans at the last minute. When she left earlier, she simply said "you're welcome". I'm not sure if it was meant for you or for me but in any case, I'm transferring the message."

"Please remind me to send flowers to your sister tomorrow!"

They remained quiet in each other's embrace until Harvey felt Donna move. His grip on her instantly increased. He wasn't willing to let her go. Not now. Not ever.

"Don't worry, I'm coming back", Donna whispered. "But I would like to use the bathroom before falling asleep for the night."

"Oh, okay… Sorry."

Donna grabbed Harvey's Harvard tee-shirt that was conveniently lying on the floor next to her side of the bed and put it over her head.

His eyes followed her until she reached the door to the ensuite. "Donna?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned her head. "Yes, Harvey?"

"You'll find a new toothbrush in one of the drawers", he replied with a warm smile.

Donna returned his smile. "Thank you".

Harvey took the opportunity to get out of bed and take care of a few things _before falling asleep for the night_. With Donna, his mind added. He put his boxers back on and went just outside the bedroom to turn off the lights in the living room. He then closed the sliding doors separating the bedroom from the rest of his condo and shut the curtains in his bedroom (he wanted them to be in a bubble, at least for the night). He took her place in the bathroom as soon as she vacated the space. When he came back, he saw her under the sheets and noticed that she had kept his tee-shirt. "Are you going to sleep in my tee-shirt?"

"It's not like you're completely naked either", she joked back, indicating his minimalistic attire with her index finger.

Without a second of hesitation, Harvey took his boxers off and joined Donna in bed, his hands already on her (his) shirt to remove it as fast as possible. In the end, they didn't fall asleep immediately… Not that it was a surprise. After all, they had a lot of catching up to do and were finally ready to act on it.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Sunday, August 20, 2017_

It wasn't too early when Harvey woke up if the light coming through the curtains was any indication. He listened attentively and realized that there was someone in his kitchen regrettably. It could only be one person and he needed to stop her before she could venture further into his condo. Less than 30 seconds later, he exited the bedroom, making sure to gently close the doors behind him. Jessica examined him suspiciously for a moment. His bright blue and orange basketball shorts (he hadn't been able to find his tee-shirt in his hurried state) and his hair sticking in all directions. "I thought I was going to have to knock on your bedroom door", she said in greeting.

Harvey's eyes widened at Jessica's words. He could only imagine what would have happened had he not closed his bedroom's sliding doors the night before. "And good morning to you too, Jessica", he retorted sarcastically. _Attack is the best form of defense!_

"Oh, it's a beautiful morning indeed. Sunny. Warm. A perfect end-of-summer day in New York City. But looking at you, I don't think you're aware of that fact yet. Probably too busy having a good night to enjoy the morning, right?!"

Harvey willed his face to remain impassive and asked the only question that needed an immediate answer: "To what do I owe the pleasure, Jessica? It's not like it's normal for me to find you in my kitchen, especially now that you live in Chicago, making coffee at…" He looked at the clock on the microwave. "At 9:32 am", he finished.

"In my defense, I thought you were not home. You would have known if you had answered my call or listened to my message… But I guess you were really too busy last night to check your phone!"

Harvey was barely awake, half dressed, and Jessica was teasing him with evident pleasure. _Not a great start of my day. I wanted to cuddle in bed with Donna._ She took pity on him and handed him an envelope to explain her presence.

"You're getting married?!" That managed to wake him up completely.

"Yes, I am. And I was hoping you could deliver these to the others for me. I don't have access to the firm whenever I want anymore, hence my surprise visit, even if it wasn't meant to be a surprise."

"Sure. I'll hand deliver the invitations for you tomorrow."

"Thank you. Jeff and I have a little time before our flight. Would you like to join us for brunch?"

"Huh…" Harvey quickly glanced at the closed doors leading to his bedroom, pondering his options.

In typical Jessica fashion, the former managing partner didn't blink and clarified her question: "You and Donna, of course."

"How did you…" He didn't have the chance to finish his question.

"Know that it was Donna? Please, give me more credit than that, Specter!" Harvey's eyebrows showed his shock. _How can she know?_ "I saw her purse by the front door then her shoes." She pointed at the pair of high heels unceremoniously abandoned near the couch.

Harvey decided to put an end to the awkward encounter. "Text me the details, Jessica."

"Will do. See you two later, Harvey."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Jessica was here."  
"WHAT?!"

"She was dropping these off", he said, showing her the printed card.

"Oh wow!"

"That's not all. She invited us for brunch as well."

"We? As in…"

"You and me? Yes."

"YOU TOLD HER?!"

"I didn't have to… She saw your purse and your shoes."

Donna chuckled. At the situation. And at Harvey: "I can't believe you talked to Jessica like that."

"Well, I couldn't find my tee-shirt…"

"Hey! You're the one who threw it away last night!"

Harvey smiled, enjoying the verbal banter that they could now bring to another level (and bring it to the bedroom). "At least, you didn't start undressing me in the living room!"

"True."

"For the record, this is _not_ how I had envisioned our first morning together."

"I'm not complaining: we're both together this morning", she retorted cheekily.

"Low blow, Donna. Low blow."

"Sorry, not sorry! Now you go shower then you can drive me home so that I can get ready. I don't want to be late. Otherwise, Jessica will really think that you dragged me back to bed…"

"I wish!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey glanced at the key that Jessica had left on the kitchen island as they made their way to his underground garage. He wasn't proud of what was he was about to say but it was important that Donna knew. "I have a confession to make. Your key… I threw it out. In the Hudson River."

"That seems a little drastic…"

"I talked about the key (and many other things) to my new therapist. I had stupidly given her your key (another one of my "what the hell did I do" moments or one of my "snail moments" like you would call them) and I was so angry at myself. He suggested that I do something about it, even if only symbolically, and I suppose I needed to do something drastic. I almost injured my shoulder again throwing the key out, by the way." Donna couldn't help but chuckle when she visualized Harvey sending the key into the depth of the river. However, Harvey wasn't in the mood to laugh when he added: "I'm so sorry, Donna."

She matched his serious expression quickly. "I know, Harvey."

"I'm sorry for being years too late and for hurting you in the process."

"I thought we were done apologizing."

"I don't think it will ever feel enough."

"You're here. We're here, Harvey. And we are moving forward."

 _What did I do to deserve you, Donna?_ "Throwing the key out felt good, I must say. Buying a new bed too. I can't erase the past, I know, but it felt like something important to do, like a…"

"Like a fresh start?"

"Yeah, exactly."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later at Donna's apartment_

"Can you please give me your sister's address?"

Donna answered from the bathroom where she was putting the final touches to her hair and make-up. "You were actually serious about sending her flowers!"

He replied from the living room: "Hell yes! Unless you think she won't appreciate the gesture."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it. Well, depending on what you write on the card, of course!"

She looked at Harvey from the bathroom and he smiled. "Does she even know who I am?"

Donna smiled shyly in return. "Yes, she does."

He tried to calm the butterflies that were suddenly dancing in his stomach. "Do you think it's too forward to write something like "Thanks for the sex with your sister. It was awesome!"? Or maybe I could write: "Thanks for the sex with your sister. It was a long time coming but totally worth it!" Any preference?!"

"You're impossible!"

When Donna joined him in the living room, Harvey gave her a thorough once over (from her white silky top to her sandals and her skinny jeans in between). His lips morphed into a small smile.

"What?"

"Nothing", he said, intent on keeping his thoughts to himself. But Donna held his gaze, tilting her head to the side, and he knew that it was useless. "It's just that I've now seen you dress more casually for two days in a row and I'm not used to it. Don't get me wrong, I love how you dress for work but I also love seeing you like this. You know, more relaxed."

Not prepared to receive a compliment so explicit from Harvey, Donna used humor to mask her unease. "I hope you're not as shocked as I was yesterday when I saw you in your shorts!"

Harvey shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. _God, I love you._ "Ha! No. You're beautiful regardless of what you wear. That's what I'm trying to say." Harvey knew that his words were affecting Donna enough as it was. Therefore, he also resorted to humor: "But if I may add, you're significantly shorter without your high heels!"

"Way to kill the mood, Specter!" Donna playfully retorted but not without giving him a quick peck on the lips shortly after. "Come on", she said, grabbing his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world (it wasn't and Harvey's heart skipped a beat in the process). "We don't want to be late, otherwise we'll never hear the end of it. It's embarrassing enough as it is!"

"Imagine me earlier, barely awake…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later with Jessica and Jeff_

"Will you take whipped cream with that, sir?"

Harvey politely declined the waiter's suggestion to add whipped cream to his order of pancakes, too embarrassed to look to his right where Donna was seated.

As for the redhead, she was amused by his capacity to blush at the mere mention of the sweet treat in front of him. She took advantage of the fact that Jessica and Jeff seemed busy talking to each other to lean into him and ask in a quiet (and not so innocent) voice: "You don't like whipped cream anymore?"

He whispered his answer in her ear: "I still do. Don't worry. I just prefer to have it in private."

Jessica shook her head. She hadn't heard them but she didn't miss their body language, in particular the conversation their eyes were having. _These two..._ "So I leave the city and you two finally get together?"

"Huh…" _Are we supposed to say something?_

"You don't need to answer that but please answer this: how are you planning on not letting people know?" So, she listened to Donna and Harvey as they explained in great details how they were planning on keeping their relationship secret, completing each other's sentences with ease and indirectly showing how happy they were. _Finally!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After saying goodbye to Jessica and Jeff, Donna and Harvey spent a relaxing afternoon, notably enjoying a nice walk in a park and talking about everything and anything.

"Do you want to go back to my place?" Harvey asked out of the blue. He wasn't ready to let Donna go. Even less so now that they had taken those extra steps in their still new relationship.

Donna's gaze fell on him immediately. "No", she answered firmly.

"No?" Harvey felt his heart drop. _What?_

"No. I'm going home", she replied with the best poker face she had ever presented. But because she only wanted to play a little bit with him, she opted to put him out of his misery without further delay: "You're welcome to join me if you want though."

Harvey didn't mask the huge sigh of relief that he let out. "You're not funny", he declared, unimpressed.

She kissed the pout on his face and countered: "I'm hilarious!"

He tried to remain unaffected and mumbled: "Whatever…" It didn't last long and he gave her a kiss on the lips before adding: "Let's go to my place then. I will need things for work tomorrow."

"Let's!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

He found Donna waiting for him outside. The view (Donna on his balcony, New York City in the background) took his breath away and perfectly illustrated how, with Donna in his life, everything looked more beautiful. I love you, he wanted to tell her. He swallowed his words and gently wrapped his arms around her waist instead.

"That was quick", she said as she relaxed in his embrace.

"Well, I'm not always slow…"

Donna smiled but didn't address his comment. She focused on something else, the state of peace she was in: "The view is amazing. Do you at least get to enjoy it from time to time?"

"I might start now if I have company", Harvey suggested seductively.

"Smooth, Specter. Very smooth."

He chuckled in her neck.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Back at Donna's apartment_

Donna was helping Harvey put his clothes in her walk-in closet when she noticed that he had brought two suits, two shirts and two ties. "Are you optimistic that you're going to stay more than one night or you didn't know what to wear tomorrow?"

"Can't it be both?"

Donna considered his response and what hers could be. He had a point, she thought. She wouldn't mind having him for more. However, the cautious (and smart) side of her took over: "Let's start with one night and if you don't derail my routine tomorrow morning, I'll consider having you stay one more night." _See, sensible._

 _Negotiation skills worthy of a lawyer. Not that it's any surprising…_ "Fair enough", he replied while hoping that his optimism would be justified the next day.

Donna was organizing ingredients for the meal that they were planning to cook together when she first noticed that Harvey was staring at her. With a very _penetrating_ gaze. She resumed her food preparations and only stopped to put her hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Harvey was still staring at her. "What? Not used to seeing my hair like that?" She remembered the moment earlier when he had commented on her wardrobe (making her self-conscious in the process) and thought nothing more of it. She just would have to get used to Harvey looking at her _like that_ (not that she was opposed to it per se, it was just a little unnerving sometimes).

He shook his head to tell her that no, her hair was not the reason of his staring and associated silence. Well, he was always mesmerized by her effortless beauty (hair included) but what was currently occupying his mind was different altogether. He inhaled slowly and exhaled even more slowly. He made eye contact with her again and smiled shyly. "I love you", he simply said. He swallowed and continued: "You once asked me "how" and I couldn't tell you but… I can now." He paused for a second before resuming: "I don't love you like a colleague, even if you're the best colleague in the world. And I don't love you like a brother or a cousin because that would be… Huh, no, no. I definitely don't love you like a brother or a cousin! I love you like someone who is crazy about you. In case you don't know it yet, I'm in love with you, Donna, and I want everything with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and have children with you. I would like us to get married but if you prefer not to, that's okay too. You don't have to say anything right now. I just wanted you to…"

Donna's lips on his prevented him for finishing his sentence. Not that it mattered anyway. She knew. She didn't answer him with words but dragged him to her bedroom to show him exactly how she felt about his declaration of love.

Moments later, while they were cuddling in bed and basking in postcoital bliss, Donna started to laugh. _Uncontrollably_. She calmed down eventually and opened her mouth to defend her unexpected reaction. She started with "I'm sorry".

"Wow. First laughing and then apologizing right after sex. That never happened to me before! I mean, yeah, you should be sorry: the sex was great and all but we can certainly try to do better next time!"

Donna chuckled at Harvey's quip. "One, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at myself. Two, let me explain… It's the third time now, I believe, that you're in the middle of a sentence and I cut you off by kissing you."

"Yeah, it's like your new signature move or something!"

She burrowed her face in the crook of his neck and mumbled on his skin. "It looks like it." A second later, she lifted her upper body on her elbows and looked him in the eye. "What I meant to say is that I'm sorry for not saying anything back earlier. I appreciate you putting your cards on the table." She kissed him softly on the chest and returned to her position, holding his gaze intensely before speaking up. "I love you, Harvey. And I want everything with you too." She didn't miss the big grin that adorned his face as soon as his brain registered her words. "But, for your information, I am not changing my name to Specter." She was supposed to be serious but her eyes and smile were all but serious.

"I wasn't expecting you to", he retorted sincerely. "Paulsen kind of grew on me after all this time", he added more lightly. _I love my life!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Early Monday morning at Donna's place_

"You still think you can rely on your acting skills?"

"My name is Bond, James Bond", he declared in his best Sean Connery's impression. "Not convincing enough for you?"

"I'm serious, Harvey. After your meeting, when you go back to the firm…"

"Donna", he interrupted her, gently taking her hands in his. "I spent years pretending not to be in love with you and it worked so well that you never knew. I can pretend that we're just "business partners", even though we're dating."

Donna agreed with him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Okay, James, you'd better bring your A game today!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later in Harvey's office_

"You don't look surprised, Donna… You knew!"

Donna was rarely the "victim" of Mike's sharp observational skills and it threw her off a little. Fortunately, Harvey was there to save her: "Neighbours' privileges, Mike. She knew about Jessica's wedding as soon as I arrived here this morning."

Donna recovered in time to pick up the ball and have a little fun with Harvey: "Oh, guys. He was so excited that he couldn't wait until 11:00 am to tell everyone. He was almost bouncing on his feet when he entered my office this morning."

 _I didn't_ enter your office _this morning, Donna. Not that I didn't want to… Focus, Specter!_ He smirked. _Two can play this game, Donna._ "You're one to talk. You practically squealed when you learned the news!"

"I did NOT squeal."  
"Yes, you did."

Mike and Rachel were amused by the exchange but Louis put an end to it. He was happy for Jessica but he had work to do. They all had work to do. "Okay. Great! If that's all, we should get back to work." They followed Louis' suggestion and exited Harvey's office swiftly. Well, all except for one individual.

Harvey had just sat at his desk when he noticed the individual in question. "What are you still doing here, Mike?"

"We're all invited to Jessica's wedding…"

He gave him a pointed look. "Yes, we've already established that. What's really on your mind?"

"Are you going alone?"

 _Not beating around the bush. I hate you sometimes, Mike._ "Why? You want to be my "plus one"?! Awwww! That would be nice, Mike, but I don't know how Rachel would feel about that."

"You may think you're funny but you so are not. Donna might go alone too, you know…"

"Good for her", he replied without making eye contact with him. He needed to appear convincing and if he looked his friend in the eye, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to. "I don't see what's that got to do with me though. Listen, Mike, I told you once and I am going to repeat it: Donna and I are colleagues. That's all."

"Just colleagues. Really?"

"Good colleagues. Very good colleagues even. Satisfied? And, to answer your initial question, I'm not planning on going with anyone to Jessica's wedding."

Mike grumbled something that Harvey didn't understand but to the older man's relief he opted to finally leave the managing partner's office.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later the same day_

"Good afternoon, Gretchen!" Donna exclaimed when she saw Harvey's former assistant in the firm's kitchen. She liked to alternate between both kitchens (the regular one and the executive one) in an attempt to keep her finger on the pulse.

"It appears that it is indeed", Gretchen replied smugly.

"Haven't you heard? Jessica is getting married."

"I've heard but let's not pretend that Jessica getting married is the reason behind your smile today or since your return for that matter."

"I have no idea what you're talking about", she retorted with an innocent expression on her face.

Gretchen didn't buy it for one second and continued to let her know with her no-nonsense attitude. "He looks happy too."

The small twitch of her lips betrayed her. _He does, doesn't he?_ "We're both very happy that Jessica is getting married."

Donna's cryptic response made Gretchen smile. _That's how you want to play it, Red?_ "I'm happy too. Everyone deserves to find love in their life."

Donna cleared her throat. "I agree. See you later, Gretchen." _Oh my god, we're totally busted! She must be part of the secret club of the all-knowing executive assistants!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later at Donna's apartment_

Harvey had been home for less than five minutes, kissing his new girlfriend with abandon, when her phone rang. Donna untangled herself from him enough to reach the device.

"I should get that", Donna said, glancing at her best friend's picture while the phone continued to ring.

Harvey didn't move, content to have Donna in his arms for the first time since they left her apartment over 12 hours earlier.

"Hey, Rachel!" Donna greeted her friend.

"Am I interrupting something?"  
 _Okay, maybe I'm more out of breath than I thought._ "Yes, you are interrupting actually." _Partial truths are always easier to deliver._ "I'm trying to prepare dinner and you know me in the kitchen… Things can get out of control pretty quickly." _Things were definitely about to get out of control!_

That made Rachel laugh on the other side of the line. "True. So, have you RSVP for Jessica's wedding yet?"

Donna pushed Harvey softly and indicated the bedroom. "Go change", she whispered to him while muting her phone for a second. "We just received the invitations, Rachel", she retorted defensively. _This morning, officially._ "Have you?" _Good deflection, Donna._

"Yes, we have." Donna didn't miss the "we" that her friend used. Rachel wasn't married yet but she was already considering herself as part of a "we". "Do you know if you're going to bring a date?"

Donna chuckled nervously. She really thought that Rachel was less direct before she left. "I don't know, Rachel. Probably not, I would say. It's very soon and it's almost a work thing so I guess it's okay if I go by myself, don't you agree?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I was simply curious. Just so you know, Harvey is going solo."

"And how do you know that already?!"

"Mike asked him before leaving tonight", she replied immediately. "Maybe he felt like you, not willing to bring other people to an almost work-related event."

 _Of course, Mike asked Harvey._ She wondered how long they were going to be able to maintain that charade and realized that it was going to be a miracle if they could fly under the radar until Jessica's wedding. She had to try to sell it though. "Okay. And…"

"You could go together. I'm just saying. You two seemed good this morning."

"We are, Rachel, but that doesn't mean that I need to invite him to the wedding as my plus one. We're good colleagues, that's all."

"Good colleagues, that's exactly what Harvey said to Mike. Okay, Donna. It was just a suggestion."

Rachel's words were met with silence. Harvey was back in the kitchen wearing his bright blue and orange basketball shorts and a white tee-shirt. He went directly for the pot on the stove and started to stir the sauce that was simmering. For all the years that she had known him, she hadn't seen him enough in shorts (or less) and she was enjoying it immensely, even if it was distracting.

"Everything okay, Donna?"

She eyed Harvey again. He looked great in suits but showing a little bit of skin was working for him too. "Yeah, I was just checking what I'm having tonight."

 _Oh, the double entendre…_ Harvey focused on the pot and Donna saw his shoulders shake as he chuckled silently. _She's going to be the death of me. And then she'll say we need to keep it cool… Donna, Donna, Donna…_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Today went surprisingly well."

"I told you: James Bond has nothing on me. I could have been a spy in another life!"

"We're going to have to be on top of our game tomorrow and everyday after that."

"I like it when you're on top!"

Donna burst out laughing at Harvey's forwardness. Their banter/flirting hadn't needed an adjustment period when they had started dating. It was a relief for her as she had secretly feared that their romantic relationship would somehow affect them negatively. It hadn't. On the contrary. Similarly, sex had been great. She had strongly hoped that it would be as amazing as it had been over a decade before. It wasn't. It was different. Different and better. So much better. Because they were finally on the same page, physically and emotionally.

Harvey's voice brought her back to the present. "You know, one day, you and I are going to get married."

Donna was surprised for a second by Harvey's out of the blue declaration. "Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah."

"You seem very confident."

"I am."

"Good."

"Good."


	7. Almost as good as spies - Part 1

_Author's notes: I'm very sorry about the delay in posting a new chapter… So, what are our favorite "spies" up to? Are they finally going to get caught?_

The following weeks flew by for the new couple. To his relief, Harvey hadn't disrupted Donna's morning routine too much that first day when they had to get ready for work together. As a result, Donna had kept her word and they had repeated the experience the following morning and most mornings since then. They had alternated between places and established a new routine which included meal preparations together (when time permitted), quiet moments on weekends (as long as there was no crisis at work) and even time apart for yoga (Donna) and boxing or running (Harvey) on a weekly basis. Their new routine also allowed them plenty of opportunities to be intimate and they were both _very pleased_ about that.

It was like a dam had been opened with Harvey. As soon as those three words ( _I love you_ ) had been pronounced once (and reciprocated by Donna), he couldn't stop repeating them. He was equally eager to compliment her whenever the opportunity arose and _loved_ to cuddle with her (whether in bed or on the couch). In sum, he was like the perfect boyfriend: loving and supportive. The change in their status from colleagues to lovers had a positive impact on him and he seemed free of worry now that he was with her and free of expressing his emotions, which was completely unusual when you were on the receiving end (not that Donna was complaining). If anything, she was the one having to find her equilibrium in that new situation. She tried to adjust to Harvey's attitude and not let it threw her off too much. In all honesty, she admitted that she was more inclined to show her feelings to Harvey than being vocal about them. But that was okay. They were good. _So good_. Therefore, they could take their time to adapt to the dynamics of Harvey and Donna together in all aspects that mattered.

Despite the happiness that their new relationship brought her, Donna had doubts sometimes. ( _Not that kind of doubts!_ ) She often wondered whether or not their relationship was really secret. To be fair, she was aware that many people actually knew. Jessica (and Jeff) knew since the beginning but had been sworn to secrecy by the pair. Donna's family similarly knew ( _thank you, Julia!_ ) as well as Harvey's, including his mother who spoke with him regularly and who, as a result, was cognizant of her son's "very special" someone. Ray also knew and was the ally that they needed. He was in charge of driving them (separately or not) and their personal belongings to one address or the other. He had always been a Donna fan so he was more than happy to facilitate the logistics of navigating between homes. Gretchen, David and Maya (Harvey's assistant and Gretchen's niece) knew too. David and Maya were not only allies, they were also the couple's accomplices. They were the ones who scheduled their weekly lunch dates (aka business meetings over food) and even had to cover for them once when their "business meeting" lasted longer than expected (and it wasn't because the food was late to arrive). Basically, the only important persons who _didn't_ know were Louis, Mike, Rachel and Specter Litt employees.

Donna was grateful that "Michelle Ross" hadn't suggested a night out, too busy with work and with preparations for her big wedding. She was grateful because that was one thing to omit certain (crucial) details about her life or deflect when necessary but it was a completely different thing to keep it to herself if she shared drinks with her best friend outside of the office. So far, it had been relatively easy to "forget" to mention the most recent developments in her love life. As for Mike, Harvey intelligently displayed the right mix of stubbornness, evasiveness and grumpiness to keep him in the dark in regards to Donna or any other woman. Which left Louis as the last one to mislead if they wanted to maintain their perfect undercover operation. And the continued success of their mission was about to get tested on Wednesday, September 20…

When Donna and Harvey entered Louis Litt's office that morning, unannounced, the older lawyer's first reaction was to panic. _Oh no, what did I do?_ Then he noticed their relaxed demeanor and their small, yet unmistakable, smiles and he figured that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't in trouble after all.

"We have a favor to ask you", Donna started, which was Harvey's suggestion as Louis would be more receptive if it was coming from Donna, even if they had grown closer recently. "We want to know if you wouldn't mind being alone in charge here because we have commitments out of town and they both happen to be on the same weekend." Louis looked at the two, waiting for them to elaborate on the reasons why. Harvey glanced at Donna and nodded imperceptibly at her as if to say "go ahead". "My sister's organizing a surprise party for my mother's birthday on Saturday and there's also my nephew's 7th birthday on Sunday. I won't bore you with the details but I already talked to Harvey about it and, if it's okay with you, I would like to leave on Friday. Weird coincidence, Harvey has something this weekend too." She turned to Harvey, encouraging him to continue with a smile.

"Yes, Louis. My mother is receiving an award on Friday at her college and I would like to attend the ceremony and see my family on the same occasion. I was thinking that I could seize the opportunity of being in Boston to meet people at Harvard and maybe try to have them send us graduates again. We could certainly use the influx of good candidates, not that we can't successfully recruit at Columbia or elsewhere (Rachel is a worthy lawyer, we all agree on that), but Harvard is Harvard and I don't like being black listed by them. It's not good for our reputation." Harvey was appealing to the older lawyer's attachment to Harvard and his dedication to the firm. Louis couldn't _not_ do what was best for Specter Litt. It was a cheap shot, Harvey was very conscious of that, but they really wanted to escape for the weekend so they had devised a plan to add credibility to their excuses for needing to leave New York City for a weekend and expertly deflect his attention to something other than their respective commitments, which weren't fictitious at all by the way. They simply neglected to reveal that Donna was intending to join Harvey in Boston on Friday afternoon and that Harvey would follow Donna to Connecticut afterward to celebrate both birthdays. To their relief, Louis quickly accepted their request to hold down the fort by himself. He was so happy that his colleagues were trusting him and so eager to prove his worth that he never suspected a thing. He wished Donna and Harvey a great weekend with their families and sent them away with the promise to only call them if necessary (they didn't believe the last part). The pair thanked the other partner profusely and exited his office before he started questioning the timing of their absence.

Later that day, Donna saw David enter her office with a determined attitude, closing the door behind him (which he rarely did) and taking a seat across the desk from Donna (which he did even more rarely).

"How did it go with Louis?" he asked without preamble. He had taken after Donna's habit of calling everyone by their first name (at least when talking about them with his boss).

"Surprisingly well", Donna answered, still perplexed by the interaction with her friend.

"Was he suspicious?"

"No, I don't think so."

"You're saying that he bought your weak excuse? That it was a weird coincidence that you were going away at the same time?"

"Yep!"

"Speaking of weird coincidence, if I may speak freely…"

Donna smiled at him, intrigued about what he was going to declare. "Of course, David."

"You and Harvey seem to want to keep your relationship secret (and I get why) but your outfits match way too much for it to be accidental. I don't mind. Actually, I think you two look GREAT together. But I'm just saying that if you want people not to suspect that you're a couple maybe you should be more careful with what you decide to wear in the morning. That's my humble suggestion. You do whatever you want with it."

Donna went back in her mind to their clothes for the last few days and realized that David might have a point. "To be honest, I hadn't realized we did that", Donna replied sheepishly. "Did people notice?"  
"No, I'm pretty sure nobody noticed. Well, besides me! Gretchen, Maya and I are still the only ones who know, as far as I can tell."

"That's good", Donna replied, pensive. Then, she made eye contact with him again and said: "Thanks, David. For letting me know. And for being discreet."

"I believe it's part of my job", he replied with a wink, before leaving the room with a bouncing step.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

On Friday morning, while Harvey was making his way across the airport terminal to reach his gate, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Harvey!"

"Scottie. What a surprise! How are you doing?"

"Good. How are you?"

"I'm great! Where are you headed?"

"London", she replied, taken aback by Harvey's enthusiasm. "I'm going home after a few days here for a case. Where are you going to?"

"Boston. My mother is getting an award later today."

"Your _mother_?! I didn't know you were on speaking term again…" _Wow, Harvey not only mentioning his mother but going to see her? To celebrate her?!_

"Yes, we are. It's somewhat recent." Harvey didn't think that it was necessary to add that Donna was the one responsible.

"It's good. I'm glad", she replied, perplexed by the whole conversation, yet happy for her former lover.

"Thanks, I'm glad too", he replied with a small smile.

Scottie suspected that something else was going on. However good Harvey's reconciliation with his mother was, she didn't believe that it was just about his mother. She stared at him for a second but determined that he seemed sincere.

Harvey broke the silence before it became uncomfortable. "There's something else that you should know though…"

 _Ha! I knew it!_ "Yes?"

"Donna and I are together now", he said in one breath. He was slightly on edge because he was uncertain of Scottie's reaction. She tended to always want to end up their meetings (professional or not) in bed with him. He absolutely didn't want to go that route on that day (on any other day for that matter) but he hoped that his admission didn't hurt his old friend's feelings.

Scottie looked him in the eye and declared: "I would say that I'm surprised but not really…" _No, not surprised!_

Harvey had the decency to appear embarrassed. "Yeah, well…" _It was inevitable, wasn't it?_ "I huh… I'd appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself for now. It's still new and we haven't told anyone at work yet." _Please._

"You haven't?!"

"Not exactly. My assistant knows and so does Donna's but that's about it. We'd like to explore our relationship without Louis, Mike, Rachel or the firm's employees watching our every move. And probably offering their opinion too."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it. I'm not going to spill the beans!'" _I could though. It's tempting…_

"Thank you, Scottie. Sorry, I have to go. I don't want to miss my flight but take care."  
"You too, Harvey." _So…_ _That happened. Harvey and Donna are together. I'd pay to see Louis, Mike or Rachel learn that these two idiots are finally a couple. On second thought, maybe not…_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Operation Charm with Harvard went very well according to Harvey's humble (and biased) opinion. He drove to his mother's college with the conviction that the firm would have candidates from the prestigious university in the near future. His sense of accomplishment was however nothing as compared to his excitement to see Donna shortly. It was ridiculous and he wouldn't even confess it under duress but he had missed Donna. He reasoned that it was related to the fact that they were in different cities as they usually didn't see each other for hours on a regular week day and he was fine. She had just landed in Boston and was on her way to meet him. He was counting the minutes! He parked his rental car and sent a message to Donna to inform her of his exact spot in the parking lot. He then walked inside the building to check where the room was located so that they wouldn't waste any time looking for it and be late for the ceremony in his mother's honor. He swiftly went back to the car to wait for Donna, loosening his tie and undoing the first button of his shirt while walking. It was a very warm afternoon and he was getting hot under the sun with his black three-piece suit and his Harvard crimson tie. Donna had insisted that he ordered the tie. He had relented. When did he _not_ do what she suggested?! As for the suit, it was necessary when he needed a confidence boost or, more importantly for Harvey at that time, when he wished to impress/seduce his favorite COO (Donna _loved_ him in a three-piece suit).

Judging by her reaction when she saw him, Harvey deducted that he wasn't the only one who had suffered from the distance between them that day. He was right. She kissed him like she longed to do in New York City. _Freely_. She kissed him like she had wanted to since the day they had met. _Passionately_. Harvey was shocked by Donna's almost desperate intensity but quickly caught up. They didn't have to fear people seeing them in Boston. Practically nobody knew them there and as a result they could kiss in broad day light if they so pleased. It was all new for the two of them and Harvey simply enjoyed the moment. Until he felt her hands travel to his tie and start to take it off. His body stiffened and he grabbed her wrists. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes suddenly darker. He didn't want to stop. He _really_ wanted to continue making out with Donna. "I hate to be the voice of reason here but you need to stop", he said reluctantly. Why couldn't he push her inside the car and take advantage of the large (and relatively hidden) space in the back to have his way with her?

Donna gave him a mischievous look and liberated herself from his grip. "What did you think? I'm just making sure you're okay to attend an award ceremony. We're not meeting with lawyers that you need to close. We're going to a college event, Harvey." She winked at him and continued what she was doing, removing his jacket next.

Harvey shook his head. _Well played, Donna._ He grinned. "Am I okay now?"

She took a step back and examined him from head to toe. Black pants and vest over a white shirt, the first two buttons undone. _Sexy!_ "You are more than okay", she declared lovingly, before giving him a quick peck on the lips. She didn't trust herself that she could stop if she did more.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"It was a nice ceremony, wasn't it?"

Donna eyed the stranger who had accosted her suspiciously. "Yes, very nice." It was Lily's place of work and she had to keep that in mind, despite knowing where the conversation was going.

"I'm Dr. Andrew Wells, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology." He held his hand in front of him.

Donna debated telling him off but gave him a fake smile and shook his hand instead. "Donna Paulsen." _Please leave me alone._

"I saw you speak with Lily earlier. How do you know each other?"

 _Is it your pick-up line (and a bad one at that!) or are you that curious?_ "I'm her son's partner." She pointed at Harvey who was currently with Lily and the woman who had presented Lily with the award, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts (Markus had left for his restaurant shortly after the ceremony while Bobby had taken the kids back home, Katie having unfortunately been held up at work). _Help me here, Andy._

"When you say "partner", you mean business partner, right?"

Donna saw the man puff his chest ( _really, Andy?!_ ) and laughed nervously. He was tall with dark hair and approximately 50 years old. She guessed that he could be described as good-looking (albeit in a boring kind of way). _Is he that dense?!_ "Harvey and I live in New York City and we're both here today to join in the celebrations for his mother. What kind of partner do you think I am?" Patience was a virtue and Donna didn't possess it in large quantities, especially not with men who wouldn't understand courteous dismissal.  
"A very dedicated one?"

"Ha! You're persistent. I'll give you that, Andrew." His name made her skin crawl. _First Malik. Now Wells._ Doctor _Wells… Pff! What is it with Andrews being assholes?!_ She pretended to be a submissive individual, not a powerful woman who didn't tolerate to be treated as anything less, thankful for acting classes. "In truth, Harvey and I work together so we _are_ business partners but I'm not here because of work. I'm here to support my life partner." Boyfriend didn't seem enough. She had briefly considered pretending to be married to Harvey but rapidly rejected the idea. Life partner sounded perfectly fitting. It was either that or "we are definitely NOT platonic business partners", which was a joke between her and Harvey that she opted not to share with him, regardless of how annoyed she was. _Remain polite, Donna. Think about Lily._ She glanced at Harvey who was listening to his mother enthusiastically chat with the Dean and smiled when his gaze found hers across the room.

He probably sensed her unease or purely acted as a jealous "life partner", Donna wasn't sure yet, but in any case, he excused himself cordially and walked towards her with determination in his step. _Yeah, Jealous Harvey is on a mission!_ "Hey, Donna", he said as soon as he was within earshot, "we're leaving soon. You're ready?"

"Absolutely. I was just talking with Dean Wells here."

Harvey immediately held his hand in front of him for the other man to shake. "Harvey Specter. Nice to meet you." NOT _nice to meet you._

The man shook his hand and winced at the strength of Harvey's grasp. Donna who never appreciated being claimed as somebody's possession secretly enjoyed the overprotective behavior displayed by Harvey when he "casually" put his arm around her shoulders. _Take that,_ Doctor _Wells!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I saw Scottie at the airport this morning." Harvey's gaze briefly left the road to land on the redhead sitting next to him in the car.

"You did? How is she?"

"Good. She was going back to London. I… I know that we have decided not to tell anyone at work but I told her that we're together." He got Donna's attention. She gave him a look that he had a hard time deciphering. Donna remained silent, her expression unreadable. "She assured me she wouldn't say a word about us." He glanced at Donna once again, suddenly nervous that he had done the wrong thing. "Please don't tell me I had another snail moment!"

"No", she chuckled, "it wasn't a snail moment at all." Scottie, she was convinced, wouldn't out them as a couple because 1) she wasn't living in North America and 2) she probably didn't want to talk about her former lover's current relationship. Amused by Harvey's visible relief, she added: "Actually, I think it confirmed that you have now graduated to the level of a baby sea otter."

Harvey's eyes went wide and searched hers: "A baby sea otter? A BABY SEA OTTER?!"

Donna responded as seriously as she could, given Harvey's comical reaction: "You know, sea otters are very smart creatures. And baby otters are _really_ cute!"

Harvey smirked. "You think I'm smart and cute?!"

"I said that sea otters are smart and that baby otters are cute. There's a difference!"

"You think I'm smart and cute", he repeated with a hint of smugness in his voice. Donna couldn't help but smile and shake her head at his antics.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later in the evening. Harvey and Donna are at his brother's house, in the guest bedroom._

Donna was physically relaxing for the first time that day. She was lying in bed on her back, Harvey snuggled against her body. She sensed his fingers first as they started to explore under her top, then his lips lightly touched her neck, just below the ear.

"It's not going to happen", she said quietly, yet firmly.

"What's not going to happen?" he asked innocently.

"I know very well that you're trying to initiate sex, Harvey."

"Maybe I'm simply trying to kiss you and wish you goodnight."

She could feel his smile on her skin. "Harvey, you're as subtle as when you implied we have sex within five minutes of meeting each other!"

He chuckled. _Busted!_ "What can I say? You made a very strong first impression!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's about time!"

Harvey was speechless for a second. He tilted his head to the side. _What?_ He had arrived at Donna's sister as fast as possible following breakfast with his mother (Donna had declined the invitation to join them to travel to Connecticut by train as she wanted to be there earlier). "Excuse me?"

Julia eyed him more carefully (she had mostly focused on the large flower arrangement in his left hand initially). She noticed his appearance, including his black pants and dark gray shirt, and chuckled when she realized her error. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! Of course, you're not the delivery guy." Harvey chuckled with her and went to introduce himself ("You're right. I'm…") but she cut him before he could finish: "You're Harvey! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Julia." She held her hand in front of her.

Harvey shook it. _She's definitely Donna's sister._ "Hi Julia. It's an interesting way to meet you! I can't really say that I've ever been mistaken for the delivery guy before but I see how the flowers must have thrown you off. The man said they were super busy and asked me to bring this to you."

"I apologize again. I should have been more observant. You're dressed too well to be a delivery guy!"

"Huh, thanks, I guess."

Julia giggled. _It's too easy to rattle him._ "Please come in. Donna's waiting for you."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that day, Harvey received a text message from Mike asking how the visit at Harvard had been. Almost simultaneously, Donna received one from Rachel inquiring about the birthday's preparations.

Harvey's response: "Harvard was as beautiful as usual at this time of year. Not that you would know!" He would have added appropriate teasing emojis if it had been his thing but he only used emojis with Donna, and only recently, his favorite ones being the red heart and the heart eyes.

Donna took a picture of the cake that she had just picked up at the bakery with Harvey and sent it with the following message: "Still work to do but at least the cake is here and looks delicious!"

Harvey who was peeking over her shoulder to read her message declared: "I bet they wonder if we lied about our weekend. They probably think we went to Las Vegas to get married!"

Donna scoffed. "Imagine that!"

Harvey stared at her and spoke very earnestly: "Oh I can totally imagine it, Donna!"

Her expression softened. "You can now?"

He nodded once, his eyes never leaving hers. "Yep. Not that we have to get married there but I totally would go to Vegas to get married with you if that was what you wanted. I don't mind the where as long as it's you and me."

She considered his words for a moment and eventually stated: "I'm still not changing my name to Specter." Harvey grinned. _It's going to happen, Donna_ Paulsen _!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Donna's mother was agreeably surprised to see her youngest daughter among the persons present at the party held in her honor. She was even more surprised to meet the one and only Harvey Specter, the man who was supposedly always too busy to take a day off work. It didn't take long for her and the rest of Donna's family to like him. Harvey could be charming when he wanted to but what really grabbed everyone's attention (in the best possible way) was how he interacted with her and, obviously, how happy Donna was. Happier than she'd been in a long time. How he looked at her particularly made an impression on Julia. He was clearly a man in love and thought that she hung the moon in the sky. The fact that he had stopped by a flower shop on his way to Julia's house to buy flowers for Donna's mother added to the points in his favor. As for Jack, Donna's nephew, he announced confidently that Harvey was "the best". Harvey had indeed helped Donna pick his presents (in truth, he had heavily insisted until she agreed) and he had delivered big time! Donna had told him that Jack liked Batman and Harvey had immediately proposed several items. Batman was his specialty, he had argued. He had been a fan since he was a kid himself. In the end, they had bought a radio controlled batmobile and a Batman LEGO box. Both were huge hits with the seven-year-old boy.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The weekend was a success beyond Donna's expectations. She had never been away from work with Harvey. They had gone on a few work-related trips but nothing similar to their excursion to Massachusetts and Connecticut. The weekend marked another important milestone in their relationship: meeting each other's family. To say that everything went well was an understatement. She was thrilled to spend time with Markus (whom she hadn't seen in years) and his family and to finally get to know Lily. She was so proud of Harvey for having reconnected with his mother. Harvey would always miss his father (she would always miss Gordon as well) but at least he had Lily in his life now. She got along with Lily too and that was an added bonus. Lily was considerate and witty and made her feel welcome instantly, just like her family had welcome Harvey. With open arms. Moreover, being off work with Harvey allowed them to relax a bit despite the travelling involved and busy schedule. But what stayed with Donna the most from their weekend was how wonderful it was to be with Harvey freely. To stop hiding their relationship. To act as a couple without fearing inquisitive looks. To be affectionate with him whenever she wanted to. To be able to hold his hand, run her fingers through his hair or kiss him. It had truly been a liberating and exhilarating experience. When they arrived in New York City early in the evening on Sunday, Donna was still on a high. So much so that she didn't care that Harvey didn't answer her regarding their dinner plans. She actually enjoyed the diversion thoroughly.

Later in bed, Donna made fun of him because he had ignored her questions about dinner in favor of executing his own plans. He had indeed led her to the bedroom, relatively silently, choosing to make love to her, thus satisfying a more urgent need first. After three days of abstinence imposed by them staying with his brother, then with her sister ( _pure torture!_ ), he visibly needed to release some of the pent-up sexual tension that had accumulated over the weekend.

"It looks like you adopted my "kiss first, talk later" approach", Donna playfully remarked.

"I hope you don't mind that I copied your signature move!"

"Not at all. In fact, I highly encourage it."

"Excellent! So, dinner now or round two?"

"Dinner now, _then_ round two?"

"I love how you're willing to compromise, Donna!"

"Don't try to flatter me, Specter. I want food. _Now_. Otherwise, there won't be any round two!"

"Okay, Boss! Let's find some food for you!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Tuesday September 26, 2017_

Shortly before lunch, Harvey entered Donna's office and found her, Mike and Rachel cooing over Rachel's phone. He looked over the COO's shoulder and shook his head when he saw the picture that they were staring at. "An otter. Really?!"

"What? It's Sea Otter Awareness Week, Harvey. Don't you know that?"

Harvey thought that Mike sounded like a 14-year-old boy animatedly talking about one of his hobbies. "Oh, I know everything about that", he replied sarcastically. "Sea otters are very intelligent animals. They even utilize tools to open shells and get their food."

Mike stared at him as if he had two heads. "I don't know what to say… Since when are you the expert on animals?"

"Only sea otters, Mike. Only sea otters…" He glanced at the three of them, his gaze lingering on Donna a second longer. "That being said, I don't pay you to look at pictures on a smart phone!"

Donna interjected: "Technically, I'm the one authorizing everyone's pay here, including yours, Harvey."

Forgetting the other two persons in her office, Harvey continued: "You enjoy correcting me, don't you?"

"Only when you are wrong. I'm sure, as a lawyer, you appreciate the importance of using the right word."

"Let me rephrase then… I don't _employ_ you", he pointed at each of them in turn, "to look at pictures on your phone. Not even you. Happy?"

"Ecstatic", she replied sarcastically.

Mike and Rachel observed the exchange with picked interest and waited to be in the corridor to talk. Rachel was the one who formulated her thoughts first and spoke quietly: "Something happened between Donna and Harvey."

Mike checked around him and replied just as quietly: "Why would you say that? Did Donna tell you something?"

"No. But there's something more between them."

"When isn't there something more between them?!"

"I mean, the way they interact. It seems different somehow."  
"We tried to ask them, subtly and not so subtly, but they won't budge."

Rachel shrugged and stopped in front of her office. "I might be wrong. Who knows?"

"Time will tell", Mike answered philosophically.


	8. Almost as good as spies - Part 2

_Author's notes: Suits is coming back on our screens in one week! Here is the second (and last) part of "Almost as good as spies." I know that the story started in 2017 and it's not a typo. I started to plan the story last year and I didn't change the dates for a reason that will become apparent in a couple of chapters when we do a time jump. I borrowed some things from 7B: a piece of clothing (for Donna) and an exchange/short scene. You'll recognize them easily. Enjoy and please leave a review if you have a minute :)_

 _Tuesday October 10, 2017_

"I'm sorry if you don't like it, Harvey, but it's my job as COO to reassign a case to another lawyer if I believe it's in the firm's best interest."

"You're damn right, I don't like it!"

Right outside Donna's office, David had stopped working and looked at Maya who returned his gaze with puzzlement. The argument had been going on for over 15 minutes and was becoming louder by the minute, which made it impossible to ignore anymore. The executive assistants were not used to their bosses engaging in a shouting match and considerably preferred to comment on (and make fun of) their numerous and not always subtle instances of flirting at work. Unfortunately for them (and for the two protagonists), it wasn't one of those instances. They saw Donna close her eyes and pinch her nose, annoyance written all over her face. She declared loud enough for them to hear clearly: "Harvey, you and the client… Your personalities clash and I sincerely think Louis is going to be a better fit."

"Louis?! LOUIS?! Come on!"

"You're not hearing me. You're just stubborn."

"I'm stubborn? And you're not?"

She exhaled to refrain from cursing. "It's not about me! You're acting irrationally and I believe that Louis should be the one to work with the client because he won't antagonize him like you."

"Because he's so level-headed", he replied sarcastically.

"In this case, more than you, yes! But you can't see that now so let's table this conversation and continue when you'll have time to calm down."

Harvey huffed. "Fine", he replied loudly.

"Fine", she retorted even more loudly. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening, or not, I don't care!" And with that, she exited Harvey's office without looking back. She was fuming. She would have made a more spectacular exit but she was still conscious of the people outside of Harvey's office. However, her conversation with Harvey had not been as private as she had hoped, judging by the looks that she received as she made her exit. Besides David and Maya, Mike and Rachel were also there and they were all silently staring at her with concern. Rachel followed her in her office, while Mike entered his former mentor's office. _Great! We made a scene in front of everyone!_

"Hey, Rachel", the redhead started with a tired voice.

Rachel hesitated for a second, waiting to be seated to speak. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Donna sighed softly. _Not particularly_. "Let's just say that he can be so infuriating sometimes!" Rachel glanced at her with empathy and gave her a small smile. She was "Team Donna" through and through and Donna felt bad for not having confided in her friend but she couldn't start explaining her relationship with Harvey at that moment. It wasn't the right time, nor the right place. "Don't worry, we're going to be okay. We just need a little time… What can I do for you? Don't tell me you were passing by and heard some noise…"

Rachel chuckled. "No, I wanted to see you and see if we could discuss the wedding. Are you up for it?"

"Yes, absolutely. I'm happy with the distraction!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Mike wasn't as sympathetic with his friend as his fiancée had been with her friend. "What was that about?"

"Nothing that concerns you, Mike."

"It does when you and Donna shout at each other and everyone can hear you."

"We were not shouting at each other. We were… having a discussion."

"A very angry discussion! Shall I remember that you are the firm's managing partner and Donna is the COO?"

"Are you here to give me a lesson in management, Mike? Or did you have something to ask me?"

"I wanted to talk about the Clifford case."

"Okay. I'm listening."

Harvey did his best to help Mike with the case, his mind wandering to (and already regretting) his outburst with Donna.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Donna was nursing her second glass of white wine when she heard the knock on her door. She knew who it was. She had wished that Harvey would reach out to her despite what she had told him earlier ( _Have a good evening, or not, I don't care!_ ) but was surprised that he had come all the way to her apartment on the same evening. She opened the door without a word and let him in. She then went directly to the kitchen to take another glass from her cupboard. Harvey seemed to understand that he needed to wait before talking. She filled the glass with wine, refilled hers and went to the living room to join Harvey, handing him the glass and seating down on the couch next to him (but not too close). Her face was expressionless, which unnerved Harvey more than if she had still been furious at him. Of course, he didn't expect her to be happy to see him but the fact that she didn't give him any indications of her current state of mind told him that he had been right to come and see her. It was their first real argument since they had started dating and it wasn't a great feeling. He squirmed under Donna's gaze for a couple of seconds then finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Donna. I was wrong and I was an ass with you. I took it personally but I realized later that it wasn't personal. At all in fact. So, yeah, you were right and I'm sorry."

She was completely serious when she asked: "Can you say that again please?"

Harvey looked sheepish and repeated: "You were right and I'm sorry."

She gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Harvey." He seemed confused for a second. "For coming tonight and apologizing", she explained. A second later, she added: "I expected you to do it tomorrow!"

There was a hint of playfulness in her voice and Harvey knew that they were going to be alright. He shrugged, downplaying the moment. "Well, I read somewhere that couples who stay together for a long time recommend never going to bed angry. I didn't want to go to bed with you mad at me." He paused to emphasize his point then added: "Hell, I didn't want to go to bed without you!"

His final confession made her laugh. "Oh, do you think you're going to be invited to stay?!"

He pretended to be even more sheepish and added: "I can only hope! Now, what can I do to make it up to you?"

"You can start by remembering that I'm not against you even when we disagree." He nodded solemnly. "We won't always agree but we need to keep on listening to each other." Harvey nodded again. "At least, now we don't have to worry so much about Mike and Rachel… They're probably going to back off a little."

And she was right. Jessica's wedding was a few days away and with the argument that Mike and Rachel had witnessed, they were saved from more questions. Their friends didn't suggest (again) that they go to the wedding together and were not suspicious about their travel arrangements (earlier than everyone else), which eventually led Harvey to declare: "Who knew that us fighting at work would have a silver lining, besides the amazing make-up sex?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Friday October 13, 2017 – Chicago_

"You're all ready for tomorrow, Donna?"

"Nice try, Harvey! I'm still not going to tell you what I'm going to wear!"

Harvey pouted for good measure and tied a white and fluffy towel around his waist. They were both in the bathroom, freshly out of a (shared and passionate) shower. Donna's body was wrapped in a towel as well. She was about to start her make-up, a satisfied smile on her lips and her gaze on her reflection in the mirror. Harvey had the same smile and his eyes were glued to his girlfriend. He opened his mouth to retort something funny when he heard a knock on the door.

"It must be our food. I'll get it", he offered, kissing her exposed shoulder. He was not willing to let Donna do it in her current attire (yes, he was possessive like that). However, as soon as he had opened the door, he realized his error: it wasn't one of the hotel employees. It was his best friend's fiancé! "Ha! I thought it was room service…" _Shit!_

Rachel's gaze fell on her boss' chest and abs before she recovered quickly: "And I thought it was Donna's room." _Am I wrong here? Or…_

Harvey opened his mouth to answer the young lawyer (what was he supposed to say?!) but Donna spoke first: "Harvey, don't forget to…"

Harvey's eyes went wide and he panicked, slamming the door on Rachel's face without further explanations. _Shit! Shit! Shit!_

Rachel had heard the voice and recognized it instantly. _Oh. My. God._ She stayed on the other side of the closed door for a second, in shock, before walking to her room on the same floor. She couldn't wait to tell Mike and hear about their friends (because they wouldn't be able to pretend that nothing had happened – they would have to talk).

"Where's our food?"

Harvey was standing in front of the door, appearing as shocked as Rachel a few seconds earlier. "It wasn't… It wasn't room service."

"Who was it then?"

"Rachel", he replied, turning on his heels to make eye contact. He looked and sounded absolutely horrified.

"And you opened the door like _that_?!"

"Why do you think I closed it abruptly?!" Donna started to laugh loudly. "Oh you think it's funny? My associate saw me wearing only a towel and she knows it was your bedroom so I don't see how you can laugh right now."

Donna continued laughing and went to the bedroom to check her phone. There were three messages from Rachel: "Just landed. What are you doing tonight?", "You're not answering me! I don't want you to spend your evening all alone so I'm coming to your room." and, the last one, "Did you forget to tell me something?!"). Donna called her friend immediately.

Rachel accepted the call after the first ring. "Donna! What a surprise…"

"Hey, Rachel… Can we join you in about 10 minutes? We'll have pizza and wine but you might want to order another bottle!" _We'd better get ready for an interrogation…_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Donna entered her friends' room with a small smirk on her face. _We had a good run. We knew they would find out eventually._ Harvey was carrying the pizza and wine that they had ordered (and that had finally arrived) and he was frowning a little, annoyed in advance by the accusing remarks that he knew were coming.

Mike was the one who began: "When were you going to tell us? When you'd invite us to your wedding?!"

Harvey glanced at Donna. _He has every right to be offended but still_ … He remained silent, happy to let Donna respond, as per their previous agreement.

"Who said you'd be invited? I mean, with an attitude like that, _Michael_ … Besides, we might elope, in which case nobody would be invited!"

"Are you serious?" he asked, his voice high pitched. "Is she serious?!" he repeated, directing the question to his friend that time.

Harvey shrugged, amused by Donna's teasing words. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Mike was unable to find a retort, stuck on the news of their friends clearly sharing more than a hotel room. Rachel caught on the fact that neither Donna nor Harvey seemed rattled by Mike's questions, finding Harvey rather nonchalant about a potential wedding with Donna, as if they had already discussed it. _Maybe they have._ Rachel had many questions but started by asking the one that she wanted an answer to first: "How long has this been going on?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The ceremony was scheduled to start at 11:00 am. Harvey and Donna arrived at 10:56 am. They sat down at the end of a row where two seats had been saved for them next to Louis and his date. Since they were almost late, Louis quickly made the introductions and Talia, the woman he had been seeing for the past month, shook their hands. Donna and Harvey waved at Mike and Rachel on the other side of Louis and Talia. They heard the celebrant clear her throat in the front of the room and relaxed in their seats. Harvey leaned into Donna and whispered in her ear: "See? Perfectly on time!"

She playfully swatted his thigh in return, shaking her head at his cocky attitude but unable to refrain from smiling when she thought about their morning. It was a rare Saturday morning off for the pair and they had stayed in bed, enjoying each other's company until they (reluctantly) had to get ready for the wedding. But Harvey was right (not that she would admit it to him): they were on time and it was all that mattered.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"How long have you two been together?"

Talia's innocent question made Louis chuckle nervously. He looked at Harvey and Donna apologetically. "Oh no, they're not a couple."

"Actually, Louis", Donna countered, "we are."

"What?" His brow was furrowed in confusion. He stared at them, mouth agape, and noticed Harvey's hand around Donna's waist. _What? When? Huh?_

"Sorry to announce it like that, Louis, but yes, Harvey and I are together. We were trying to keep it to ourselves but I guess it's time to share the news!" _Not that we could hide it anymore with Mike and Rachel knowing…_ "And to answer your question, Talia, we've been together for two months now."

 _I knew they were a couple!_ "Only two months?!"

"Well, we've known each other for a loooong time", Harvey interjected light-heartedly. "And Donna once said we'd been married for many years so I guess it depends on how you count."

Donna giggled and corrected: "We're not actually married."

Talia smiled at the exchange and so did Louis _. It's about time!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Congratulations, Mrs. Malone", Harvey greeted his friend, internally laughing at his joke. They were walking towards their friends, drinks in hand. He knew that Jessica had no intention of changing her name (he had already asked her in one of their phone calls) but he liked to tease her nonetheless.

She responded without batting an eyelash: "Thank you, Mr. Paulsen!"

"Ha ha, you're hilarious", he retorted mockingly.

"You started it…"

"You look happy", he declared, sounding sincere for a change.

"I could say the same thing about you… I just got married. What's your excuse? Oh, wait! Don't tell me! Your excuse is a tall redhead who's wearing a black dress and who also looks very happy."

Harvey stared at the redhead in question who was laughing at something that Rachel had just said. Jessica was spot on and didn't need confirmation from her friend so he only smirked and raised his glass and they cheered wordlessly before taking a sip of their drinks.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Holding his hand in front of him, Harvey asked: "What do you say?"

"I don't mind if I do", Donna replied lovingly, taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor. Since everyone important knew that they were together, she welcomed the opportunity to be physically close to Harvey and not care about potential rumors about them as said rumors were in fact now truths.

They danced in silence for a moment until Harvey talked: "This dress…"

"You like it?"  
Harvey pursed his lips and glanced in the distance, pondering his answer. "Like it. Love it. Hate it. All of the above."

Donna chuckled and relaxed in his embrace. _Dancing with Harvey is fun. We should do it more often._ "I really want to kiss you right now", she heard shortly after. "I know that our friends know about us but please behave", she demanded sweetly.

"I can't guarantee that I will. If you didn't look so hot in this dress…"

"Use your best acting skills, Harvey! I know you can keep it cool, just like you've been doing since we started dating."

Harvey grumbled, unhappy with Donna's reasonable stance, but he behaved, at least while they were in public.

Donna took advantage of their quiet moment on the dance floor to reflect on the last two months with her boyfriend. The cat was now out of the bag. They had been busted, victims of Rachel's kind heart. She was honestly surprised that they had been able to hide their relationship from people at work for so long. She was an actor but Harvey's talent in channeling his inner James Bond had been a revelation. He had been 100% committed to protecting their new relationship and lived up to his self-proclaimed reputation as a great spy, poker face and all, showing restraint when needed and remaining professional within the firm's walls. There was one thing that they had to stop though: suggestive text messages. Harvey had indeed been late to a meeting once because he had been distracted by his most recent virtual conversation with Donna. That being said, work didn't give them a lot of time to flirt, which was probably for the best for everyone involved.

Observing them from the sidelines were Jessica, Jeff, Mike and Rachel.

"Do you think they're going to be the next ones to get married?"

Jeff's question made Mike choke on his drink. Jessica considered her husband's question and waited until Mike was breathing properly to give him an answer. "Who knows? They might start a family first. They don't need to do things in order."

Her response provoked another coughing fit for the younger lawyer. Rachel took pity on him and patted him on the back, hoping that her fiancé would quickly recover from Jessica's suggestion (and, more generally, from the news of their friends being a couple). "You're alright, Mike?" she inquired.

"Yeah, sorry… I can't believe you knew before us, Jessica!"

"It wasn't their choice, trust me." Her words didn't seem to appease Mike and it showed. "Come on, Mike", she tried again, "I understand you're hurt that they hid it from you but it's not about you, it's about them. And after having to hear everyone and anyone comment on their supposed relationship, I don't blame them for wanting to keep it to themselves."

Rachel gave Mike a moment to process what the older woman had just said and added: "Seriously though, look at them! They're so happy together. I'm proud of them for finally figuring it out and making it work."

Mike smiled. Rachel was right. She was always right. "They do look extremely happy. You would think they're the ones who got married!"


	9. Superheroes, baseball and margaritas

_Author's notes: I keep on hoping that I'm going to post updates sooner than later but it never seems to happen… Sorry about that! Here is another chapter. The action takes place a few weeks after Donna and Harvey have attended Jessica's wedding and have been accidently busted by their friends. Enjoy and please do not hesitate to leave a review!_

 _Tuesday October 31, 2017_

Harvey Specter's 4:00 pm meeting was with a potential new client who had recently acquired a tech company based in New York City. He owned several other tech companies on the West Coast making him one of the most successful (and richest) people in his field and was considering relocating to the Big Apple to supervise the company's operations. Harvey had carefully scanned the file that Donna had prepared for him. The man's career was impressive and Harvey wanted him to choose the firm. _Game time!_ His internal pep talk was interrupted by Maya who announced that the man in question was there. Harvey asked her to let him in. He stood up from his desk to introduce himself and greet the man with a firm handshake. He was slightly taken aback with the man's clothes but didn't show it. _Who wears red pants with a black zipped hoodie and black Vans to a business meeting?!_ Then he remembered that he had read that the shoes and clothing manufacturer was actually one of his sponsors. _They really sponsor tech people?!_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Woods!"

"Please call me Nate. Mr. Woods makes me feel old. Besides, it feels like you're talking to my father and not me."

"Alright, Nate. Call me Harvey then!" _Is it a West Coast thing too?!_

"Sounds good, Harvey. I love your tie by the way!"

Harvey was surprised when he didn't detect any ounce of sarcasm in Nate's voice. _My black and yellow Batman tie?!_ Harvey had been self-conscious all morning because of his tie, a gift from Donna that he had received the night before with specific instructions to wear it to work the next day. ("Where's the fun in that if you don't wear it on Halloween, Harvey?") He was even more surprised when Nate lowered his hoodie's zipper to reveal his own Batman tee-shirt.

"I didn't expect a lawyer to wear a Batman tie to work, even on Halloween!"

"It's a gift from my girlfriend", he shrugged nonchalantly. He had reluctantly followed Donna's suggestion, pairing the garment with a black Tom Ford suit and a white shirt. He had been rewarded by a compliment from Donna ("You look amazing, Harvey!") and, more importantly, a very hungry look that she had sent his way when he had been completely dressed. That almost made him ignore the amused gazes of the firm's employees all day.

"I once went to San Diego Comic Con with my then girlfriend. I was dressed as Batman. She was dressed as a female Robin. I knew at that moment that she was the one and we've been married for the last seven years!" Harvey smiled and thought about _his_ Robin, shaking the image that Nate had conjured. He liked Mike but _not like that_. "Since we knew we wouldn't be in town for Halloween we organized a Halloween party on Saturday. Can you guess what our costumes were?"

"Batman and Robin?"

"Exactly!"

Harvey's mind jumped to his girlfriend and the Halloween party that they had been invited to by Daniel on Saturday. Before he could censor himself, he declared: "My girlfriend and I went to a Halloween party on Saturday too but I'm afraid we were not dressed as Batman and Robin."

"What were you then?"

"I was dressed as Babe Ruth", he proudly responded. Noticing Nate's blank stare, he added: "The baseball player for the New York Yankees?" ("Can I call you "Babe" from now on?")

"Sorry, I grew up a Lakers fan, so basketball is more my thing. I bet my wife knows him though. She attended Stanford on a softball scholarship."

 _His wife attended Stanford on a softball scholarship?! Power couple indeed!_ "For your information, he's the greatest baseball player of all time."

"Awesome! And what was your girlfriend?"

"Natasha Rominoff/Black Widow from the Avengers", Harvey provided, remembering her costume and how badass/hot she looked.

"Is she a redhead?" he asked excitedly.

Harvey smiled. "She is."

They eventually talked about business (for a long time) and agreed to start working together immediately. Harvey couldn't believe that his tie had been the perfect ice-breaker with that potential new client. He wondered if Donna knew what she was doing when she had insisted that he wore it that day. She probably did, he concluded. _She always knew_. As if on cue, Donna knocked on his office's door and entered when she saw him indicate that it was okay to come in.

"Nathaniel Woods. I'm Donna Paulsen, COO of Specter Litt. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You as well", he responded sincerely. Then, in a whisper, he asked Harvey: "Black Widow?"

Harvey chuckled. "Yes, the one and only!" Seeing Donna's confused expression, Harvey explained: "I told Nate about our Halloween party on Saturday."

 _It's Nate now? That's a good sign!_ "How did the meeting go, gentlemen?"

Harvey was the one to answer: "Great! Nate is coming back tomorrow to sign the papers so that the firm can officially represent him and his interests."

"That's amazing! I'm glad. I knew that you two would hit it off."

"Yes. We did. Speaking of hitting it off, my wife is in town as well. I'm sure she would like to meet with you too so would you care to join us for dinner tonight?"

Harvey and Donna exchanged a quick look and after a subtle nod of the head by Donna, Harvey answered for them to accept the invitation.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Sunday November 19, 2017_

Donna woke up puzzled. She was alone in Harvey's bed wearing her underwear and one of his Harvard tee-shirts. The problem was that she had been supposed to sleep at her apartment and reunite with Harvey the following day. They were still trying to find a good balance between their work life, their love life and their social life and Donna's alone time with Rachel the night before (at a bar close to her place) was a first since shortly after Jessica's wedding (when she had had to divulge more details than she was willing to about her and Harvey). Despite her initial intentions ("Harvey, we're not joined at the hip. We can spend a night apart."), she had apparently decided to formulate a new plan which involved going to Harvey's condo and sleeping there. _Strong and independent my ass…_ She took in her surroundings and noticed a tall glass of water and a bottle of painkillers on the nightstand on her side of the bed. She also found a note in her boyfriend's handwriting that said "Went for a run. Love you, H". _I love you too._ She smiled and stretched her arms above her head. She was thankful that she wasn't too hungover after an evening filled with too many margaritas and decided to have a long shower. _Thank you, Advil. Thank you, Harvey._ The man in question arrived when she was in the kitchen preparing a bowl of cold cereals. He examined her thoroughly and admired her body rendered even more attractive, in his humble opinion, by her tight black top and yoga pants. He greeted and kissed her on the lips before asking: "How are you feeling?"

Donna opted for honesty: "Like I'm not 21 anymore!"

Harvey snorted. "Do you remember anything from last night?"

"Not clearly. I remember drinking margaritas with Rachel but not joining you in bed. I don't even remember taking a cab here…"

He smiled mysteriously. "Well, I remember _everything_!"

"Were you sleeping when I suddenly appeared in your bed?" she inquired sheepishly.

Harvey nodded. "Yep! I thought you were supposed to stay at your place so I was confused at first but you told me, and I quote, "I want to sleep with you", which, as you can guess, woke me _up_ very quickly but then you added that you didn't mean sex so that was that…"

Donna laughed out loud. "Did you just say "woke me _up_ ", Harvey? It's such a bad pun!"

He chuckled. "It's what you told me last night as well!"

"See, even in a drunken state I think you have a terrible sense of humour!"

"You were adamant that you were not drunk. Just "seriously tipsy"!" Harvey made quotation marks with his hands to emphasize the ridiculousness of Donna's words. He recalled his reply ("Whatever you say, Paulsen.") and her reaction (indignation mixed with a futile attempt at sounding sober), wishing that he had recorded the whole thing.

Donna groaned and briefly hid her face in her hands. "Did we talk about anything else? I fear the worst now…"

"We did. You were quite talkative and introspective actually."

"What did we talk about?"

"The past… The future…"

"Can you be any more enigmatic?!"

He inhaled sharply and debated, albeit briefly, lying to her. "If you want to know, you talked about wanting kids and fearing that it was too late."

"Oh" was her only response. She hadn't expected _that_. Sure, it was a subject that regularly came to her mind but she hadn't openly discussed it with Harvey, at least not since she had come back from her trip and they had confessed that they wanted everything together, including children.

"I tried to tell you that the middle of the night wasn't the best time to have this kind of conversation, especially not while you were "seriously tipsy" but you insisted." He finished his sentence and shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Harvey, for the poor timing on my part", she replied genuinely.

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I didn't know you were worried about that." She had always loved to remind him that she was younger than him. He had therefore never suspected that she was starting to hear her biological clock ticking.

"Can you please enlighten me since I don't seem to remember our conversation?"

"What I told you is basically this", he began, making eye contact with her. "First, we haven't even started trying so it's premature to stress about you not being fertile. Second, if, big if, it doesn't work, there are other options that we can pursue to have a family. Let's not panic before we need to. Let's try first and see how it goes. Okay?"

Donna remained silent, absorbing what Harvey had just declared. _Wow!_ "That was very mature of you."

"Yes, I thought so too myself and I bragged about it and declared that it was probably my baby otter's emotional intelligence showing off." Donna giggled. "But you countered that I was now as emotionally intelligent as a young dolphin then you turned around and fell asleep instantly and that was the end of it."

"A young dolphin?! That sounds about right!" She continued to giggle from time to time and shook her head at Harvey's smug grin as if Donna's praise was a badge of honor to wear proudly.

"Jokes aside, Donna, I'm ready to try whenever you are."

"Thank you, Harvey. For last night and for today."

"Anytime, Donna", he retorted sincerely. "I'm so proud that I don't have the emotional intelligence of a snail anymore", he added, unable to refrain from making fun of Donna's original comparison (and making fun of himself in the process as well).

"God! I'm not going to drink another margarita ever again!"

"Don't make promises you know you don't want to keep!"

In the end, after her embarrassment subsided, Donna was happy that her drunk self ( _sorry, her "seriously tipsy" self_ ) had opened up to Harvey. They had needed to have that conversation and she now knew that the ball was in her court.


	10. Blue file, email and three little words

_Author's notes: Finally another chapter to (kind of) celebrate the end of Season 8-A. It took me FOREVER to update the story and I sincerely apologize. First it was time abroad that kept me busy and now that school has started again it's been hectic… That being said, Donna and Harvey are still on my mind and now you can read what they have been up since my last update! As usual, do not hesitate to leave a review. I always appreciate reading your thoughts/comments/predictions :)_

 _Tuesday December 5, 2017_

It was a regular day at the office and Harvey was looking forward to a little bit of quiet time after two consecutive meetings with displeased clients. He opened his computer and checked the time: 7:30 pm. He started to go through the quantity of emails that had accumulated since the beginning of the afternoon and replied to the most urgent ones. He was hungry and was hoping to leave soon (with Donna), hence his diligence. He was focused on his computer screen when Donna entered the room with a blue file in hand. He smiled immediately at the sight of his girlfriend walking with purpose and sitting on the other side of his desk.

"I would ask you if you're busy but I've checked your schedule and I know for a fact that you don't have any more meetings today."

He smirked. _You checked my schedule? What a surprise!_ "It doesn't mean I'm not busy though", he countered. (Just for the fun of it. Because, when it came to Donna, Harvey was never too busy.)

"Are you?" she replied, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

He barely refrained from smiling. _I can never win with you, Donna._ "It can wait", he conceded. "What is it?"

"I have a proposal for you", she simply said.

Her face was unreadable, even for Harvey and his expert gaze. "A proposal?!" He pointed at the blue file that she had in her right hand. "It looks too official to be a marriage proposal…" He pretended to be dejected for a second. "So I guess it's a business proposal…"

Donna smiled but ignored the quip ( _Hold your horses, mister!_ ) and focused on the second part of his comments. "It's not exactly a business proposal but it's work-related."

 _Definitely not a marriage proposal… Too bad!_ "I'm listening." Instead of explaining herself, Donna gave him the file and let him read it, waiting impatiently for his reaction. It wasn't a big file, only two sheets of paper with several tables and a few bullet points. Harvey was grinning when his eyes left the documents to find hers. "I'm in!"

Donna grinned back. The proposal was for her and Harvey to get away for 10 days from December 30 to January 8. The tables showed the number of clients for the dates Donna had picked as compared to other times during the year and proved that her chosen dates were the best (i.e., least impactful) for the firm to be missing its managing partner and its COO. The bullet points highlighted who would be in charge of what in their absence and what they needed to do in preparation for their vacation. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere that involves you wearing considerably less clothing than now!"

 _That's obviously your priority, Harvey!_ "Ha! Canada is out of the picture then?!"

"In winter? Absolutely! Where do _you_ want to go?"

"I've thought of several places", she replied enigmatically.

"Of course, you have", he smiled back.

"There's no rush concerning the destination. We can discuss it further and decide later."

"Or you can choose for the both of us like you are planning on doing anyway."

"I'm not going to apologize for who I am", she retorted with her most innocent expression.

Harvey chuckled and shook his head. "I trust you. I'm sure you'll pick the perfect destination."

"As long as it's not Canada…"

"Exactly!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Friday December 15, 2017_

Harvey Specter was happy. It was all new to him, this level of happiness, and he _loved_ it. His relationship with the amazing Donna Paulsen was great, exceeding his highest expectations to the point that he woke up with a smile every day. Not even a busy schedule at the office with his most difficult clients could tamper his good mood these days. "Brooding Harvey" seemed to be on leave and people had noticed the change but taken it as a sign of him finally settling in his position as managing partner (and reveling in the title's appeal for his already inflated ego). In all honesty, he preferred when he had more time to devote to the law than mainly handling the firm but Jessica was gone and he was now Number One so he had to do the job and do it well. He relied heavily on Donna's work as COO and people noticed that her role was invaluable to the firm's success, thus limiting, for a change, the rumours about her obtaining the promotion because of a secret (and torrid) affair with the boss, which, considering their current situation, she found very ironic. Harvey would have been fine continuing to keep their relationship to themselves but Donna had been the voice of reason (as usual) and convinced him that at least Alex and Katrina needed to know too. As a result, shortly after Jessica's wedding, they had held a short meeting and revealed their new status as a couple to the two other partners. Katrina had thanked them for being transparent, Alex doing the same right after. However, once Alex was alone with Harvey later that day, he hadn't been able to resist making fun of his old friend: "And all this time I thought you two were already married!" The disclosure didn't seem to disrupt the functioning of the firm and the fact that Donna never hesitated to say something when she didn't agree with Harvey insured that their integrity and leadership weren't questioned. It was a good thing considering all the problems that they faced on a regular basis: clients menacing to change lawyers, judges holding a grudge against the firm (well, against Harvey mostly) and affecting a case, or associates being associates/useless ("What do they teach them at Harvard these days?!"). And the latest: the possibility of a merger with Rand, Kandor and Zane. Nothing was certain, far from it, but it added to Harvey's plate. Fortunately for him, every time he felt tired of work, he could nowadays think of his upcoming vacation with Donna. The destination was still unknown to him (not that he minded) and he regularly teased the redhead with potential places:

\- After a dancing show that they had watched together one cold Saturday evening: "Argentina? We could learn tango in Buenos Aires!" The image of Harvey dancing tango made her giggle for days every time that she thought about it.

\- "Disney World? Come on: a double date with Mickey and Minnie on New Year's Eve?!" Her response: "No way, Specter!" _At least, not until we have kids…_

\- "New Orleans to celebrate the new year, Donna? What do you say? Jazz, French cuisine and being able to drink in the streets: what's not to love?!" The suggestion was tempting and Donna kept it in her "maybe" mental file.

It had been another busy day at Specter Litt and Harvey sighed loudly as he sat down at his desk. He looked at the files that Maya had left for him and signed where indicated. He then opened his computer to focus on his emails. It was already 6:56 pm. He couldn't believe how many emails he received every day. Way more than when he was a simple lawyer. Being managing partner meant a ton of emails, some that needed his immediate attention, some that he could respond in a less timely manner (i.e., within 24 hours instead of within the hour) and some that he had since then learned to quickly discard (unwanted solicitations and other shady ventures). Harvey's eyes scanned his inbox and fell on one particular sender before doing a double take. _What now?_ The sender's name? P. AGARD. _Paula._ He felt nervous, almost sick to his stomach, as he clicked on the message. What could she possibly want with him? The object of the message reassured him to some extent: "Apologies". He expelled a long breath before diving in and prayed that she wasn't about to announce him something bad. What he meant by "bad" remained to be defined. _No time like the present…_

Hello Harvey,

I've had time to reflect on our relationship and I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart. I am aware that you and I seeing each other wasn't a breach of ethics but it didn't make it right either. As your former therapist, I should have been the one to put an end to it (before it even started or at any other moment afterwards) but I didn't and I apologize for that. Moreover, it wasn't right to ask you to prioritize our relationship over your relationship with Donna. I don't know all the details of your past together (probably because I was too afraid to ask you about it - another one of my mistakes as a therapist) and I hope that us being together, albeit briefly, didn't affect your relationship with her. You still work together as far as I can tell from your firm's website so I assume your professional relationship is doing okay but I have no idea about your personal one. Once again, I apologize for putting you in a difficult position and for questioning Donna's place in your life. I would apologize to her as well but I'm not sure how she would take it.

I often felt that there was a third person in our relationship. It took me some time (and therapy) to acknowledge that maybe I was the one intruding into another (and more established) relationship. I guess that's why relationships with former patients are strongly discouraged. I tried to justify it but, in the end, you were the one who saw things more clearly and decided to break up with me. You showed me the way and I want to thank you for that, even if it hurt at the time. I was your therapist and I failed you. I'll always regret not encouraging to continue therapy with someone else so please accept my apologies for that as well. It's not my role to enquire about it anymore but please tell me that you didn't give up on therapy because of what happened between us.

I hope that you are doing well and I wish you all the best,

Paula

Harvey took a minute to regroup after reading the message. While he appreciated the intention, Paula's apologies made his feelings of guilt resurface. Guilt of having started a relationship with Paula and involved her in his own mess with his misguided actions. Guilt of having been a coward and not gone for what he really wanted in the first place. _Donna_. Guilt of hurting his best friend in the process and having to reach an impasse in their relationship before they could finally be honest with each other. He tried to remember that Donna had forgiven him and decided to let the past stay in the past. It wasn't easy. He was a proud man. However, he had grown recently and come to accept his shortcomings as long as he was working on being an improved version of himself. Contrary to what Paula had feared, he was still in therapy and while it was sometimes difficult, it was also useful. He had pushed people away for too long (Donna in particular) and he didn't want to repeat that mistake. He knew that he would be a better man if he continued so he was willing to do so. Donna was too important for him not to make the effort. She was worth it. She was worth _everything_.

When Harvey entered Donna's office 10 minutes later, the COO knew immediately that something was off. One second was enough to notice his slumped shoulders and nervous expression.

"What is it?" she asked without preamble as he made his way around her desk to lean against the window sill. She turned to face him and took his left hand in hers. She was careful with public displays of affection at work but she was worried as he didn't let his emotions show often.

"Paula emailed me earlier today."

Donna swallowed with difficulty. _Not what I expected._ She would have taken any work crisis over the news that the evil therapist had reached out to her boyfriend. Accepting Harvey's advances had put her on Donna's black list in the first place. Allowing their "relationship" to last as long as it had had left her there permanently. Donna still couldn't help but cringe just thinking about it, hence her reluctance to call it a "relationship". It was wrong, _so wrong_ , from the beginning. _What does she want? What kind of mind game is she playing now?_

Harvey responded to her silent questions: "She wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?!" Donna didn't try to mask her scepticism. _For what?! For being one of the worst therapists on the face of the Earth?!_ If she had been ready to forgive Harvey, she couldn't say the same for Dr. Agard. She kept every angry or sarcastic comment that she could think of to herself and waited for Harvey to elaborate.

"Here. Look at her message."

Donna took the phone from his hand and started to read the email. Her own mistrust towards the blonde woman made it difficult to fully concentrate on the words. _Breathe, Donna._ "… it didn't make it right either." _You're_ right _about that!_ "I don't know all the details of your past together." _Don't you remember our encounter over a year ago?! I thought I was pretty transparent about my feelings for Harvey at the time. You very conveniently ignored what I had told you then, huh?!_ "Probably because I was too afraid to ask you about it - another one of my mistakes as a therapist." _We completely agree on that._ "I hope that us being together, albeit briefly, didn't affect your relationship with her." _What do you think, genius?!_ "I apologize for putting you in a difficult position and for questioning Donna's place in your life. I would apologize to her as well but I'm not sure how she would take it." _Probably not well. It's a little late to realize how inappropriate the whole thing was, "Doctor" Agard, but at least you came to your senses..._ "I guess that's why relationships with former patients are strongly discouraged." _Don't you learn that in first year or something?!_ "… please tell me that you didn't give up on therapy because of what happened between us." _No but you were supposed to help him. Not sleep with him!_ Despite the apologetic message, Donna accepted that she would probably always harbor some kind of resentment towards the therapist. She could live with that. The fact that _she_ was with Harvey now certainly helped moved on from one of the darkest moments of her life.

Harvey's voice brought her back to the present. "Donna, I'm…"

She didn't let him finish, raising her right hand in front of his face: "Stop right there. We've already had this conversation, Harvey." She gave him a serious look. "I know you're sorry. You don't have to repeat it. We're good."

There was a tone of finality in her voice that warmed his heart instantly. He smiled adoringly. "I love you." Three little words that meant so much more than just "I love you" for Harvey. It was faster than "thank you for being patient with me and for accepting my flaws" or "you're amazing and I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy." Three little words that he had used with parsimony over the years and that showed the depth of his feelings for his girlfriend (also known as the love of his life).

Her expression softened at his words. " _That_ ", she said quietly, "you can repeat." Harvey's smile morphed into a wide grin and Donna was a about to say something in return when the tender moment was broken by David who entered Donna's office. "I'm really sorry to bother you, Donna, Mr. Specter, but Mr. Litt called and he's waiting for you in the conference room."

Donna heard Harvey mumble something incomprehensible next to her and turned on her chair. She cleared her throat. "Yes, of course. Thank you for the reminder, David."

David left as swiftly as he had appeared. He knew that he had interrupted the couple while they were not talking about work but he also knew that Louis Litt had been two minutes away from barging in Donna's office himself. "Scheduled meetings need to start on time" was one of his mottos after all.

Harvey stood up and looked at the redhead. "I'd better go", he said reluctantly.

"Have fun with Louis", she replied with an exaggerated enthusiasm that managed to put a smile on his face as he exited the office.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey entered Donna's bedroom much later than anticipated. The room was already dark, Donna buried under the covers. She moved as soon as she sensed his presence in bed. "Everything alright?" she asked, her voice raspy with sleep.

"It is now", he whispered, lying on his side and facing her. He didn't have to elaborate for Donna to understand the double entendre: "we're going to win the case" and "I'm here with you so it's all good."

Donna shifted slightly on her side to get closer to Harvey, putting one arm around him and encouraging him to put his face in the crook of her neck. Her other arm was trapped between them, her right hand over his heart. She embraced him in silence until she felt his body relax against hers thanks to her proximity and the hand caressing his hair in a soothing motion. "I didn't get the chance to say it back earlier", she said eventually in his ear, "but I love you too." She felt Harvey smile on her skin almost instantaneously. Harvey slowly raised his upper body on his elbows and Donna used the hand that was on his chest to lead his face to hers, their lips finally touching in a soft kiss. Her other hand moved from the back of his head to his shoulder blades then to his lower back, holding him in place firmly (not that he had any intentions of going anywhere else). "I love you", she repeated and punctuated her three little words with another kiss, that time more heated than the previous one. _You're mine._ The hand on his lower back travelled even lower and Harvey groaned on her lips. Donna rarely showed her possessive side and it was an instant turn-on for the lawyer. He let her take his tee-shirt off and push him on the bed to lie on his back. Her fingers trailed from his pectoral muscles to his abs and he trembled under her touch. _I'm yours, Donna. I'm all yours._ When their lips met again, Donna's heart made a leap in her chest. The effect that that man had on her had terrified her in the past. Not anymore. Now she just welcomed the sensation, confident that the feeling was reciprocated and that yes, being that happy ( _in love_ ) was her new reality. The evil therapist could email Harvey, she knew that their relationship was strong, that they were 100% committed to it. She would probably (and hopefully) never hear about or speak to the woman again. However, once in while, she, Donna Paulsen, loved to remind him, Harvey Specter, that he was hers and hers only. He never seemed to mind.


	11. Donna Paulsen, COO and master planner

_Author's notes: I'm so happy to finally have found the time to sit down and write! (well, besides notes here and there on my phone) I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I started planning it when I began writing this story (about nine months ago) as it was where and how I wanted Darvey to go. Do not hesitate to leave a review! I always love reading your comments :)_

 _PS: for their vacation, I picked destinations that exist, including a room with a name that's surprisingly fitting. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction…_

 _Wednesday December 20, 2017_

"I can't believe you're ditching me to have a lunch date with Katrina!" Harvey huffed.

"It's not a lunch date. It's just a meeting that happens to be during lunch time."

"That's what _we_ used to call it: a business meeting over lunch…"

"Jealous, babe?!"

"Disappointed."

"I know. Me too. With us leaving soon for 10 days, it was the only moment that worked with our schedules."

"You also cancelled our date a couple of weeks ago", Harvey complained. He knew that keeping to their weekly lunch dates was optimistic (and sometimes simply unrealistic) with the kind of work that they had. Being the firm's managing partner and COO meant that their days were often unpredictable. He was disappointed nonetheless every time they couldn't have their lunch dates.

"Well, that was planned months ago and I had totally forgotten until the doctor's office called me to remind me of the appointment."

Harvey's tone and face changed instantly from mildly irritated to greatly concerned. "You never told me it was for a medical appointment! Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Everything's great, Harvey. It was just my annual check up." _With my gynecologist_. She could have mentioned that detail but they were in a hurry and she suspected that it would open up a whole new conversation ( _kids_ ) that she didn't want to start when they were at work and had no time to really devote to the issue, which she reminded herself, wasn't actually an issue since everything was great after all. _Sorry, babe. We're going to have this conversation soon but not now._

"Oh, okay… Good." The mere thought of Donna having health issues had sent his heart racing immediately. All of a sudden, their missed lunch dates didn't matter as much but he could breathe more freely knowing that she was ultimately fine.

Having sensed his anxiety, Donna turned to humour to get rid of the residual tension between them: "Going back to the start of our conversation, I promise you that there will be no kissing involved with Katrina!"

"I certainly hope not", he retorted, almost offended that she would joke about it. He then realized that it was for his benefit, to distract him from his own worry (and that it had worked). "I don't think she's your type anyway", he added, feeling like himself again.

Donna smiled mischievously. "Oh no?"

"Nah, too conservative for you," he replied seriously.

"Maybe… Who would be my type then?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Besides me, you mean?"

"Besides you", she confirmed with a nod of the head. "And please don't say Rachel!"

"No! That would be gross! She's like family."

"I'm glad we're in agreement. Who would you see me with then?"

"That's a good question…" He pondered his answer, mentally going over options at the firm and elsewhere. "Ha! Do you know Samantha Wheeler?"

"Tall blonde who works with Robert Zane?"

"Yes."

"Hum… You're aware that she's basically you but in a woman's body and in women's clothes, right?"

"I would say that I have a much better sense of humour but…"

Donna cocked her head to the side, intrigued: "Is it some kind of fantasy that you have, Specter?"

"Nope. Like you predicted years ago, now that I'm lucky enough to have you, I don't want to share."

His response left no room for doubt. "Good boy." She gave him a small smile. "Okay, I have to go but I'll see you at home." And with those parting words, she was gone. (They were at work and public displays of affection were off limits.)

She was in the elevator later that day, coming back from her lunch with Katrina (Harvey was outside of the office for the rest of the day with meetings with different clients), when she received a text message from him.

Harvey: "When you said "see you at home", you meant your home or my home? I don't want to be presumptuous and assume you meant my place…"

Donna: "You can be presumptuous. I meant your place."

Harvey: *Smiling cat emoji* "Excellent. See you later." Then two seconds later: "At home!" *Red heart emoji*

Donna: *Heart eye cat emoji* "See you later."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Sunday December 24 & Monday December 25, 2017_

Donna and Harvey spent Christmas Eve with Mike, Rachel, Louis and Talia for a "celebratory evening among friends" as Rachel, their host, called it. Rachel had insisted on inviting the two other couples while her parents were out of town, enjoying a rare vacation on the West Coast to visit Laura's side of the family. The food was delicious (as expected from any event organized by Rachel Zane) and the group had a great time in each other's company. Donna and Harvey were back at her place shortly after midnight and went straight to bed. They were working tirelessly to prepare for their upcoming vacation and were both exhausted. They woke up before 7:00 am on Christmas morning, habits too hard to break. An early start was okay with Donna though. She had a long list of things she wanted to accomplish on their day out of the office, besides putting a few hours of labour related to the firm. _No rest for the wicked!_ A long list, high expectations and a very specific order: shower, breakfast, presents and vacation talk. Vacation talk. It wasn't just about _where_ they would fly to. It was first and foremost about _what_ they were going to do while they would be there. She knew what she wanted them to do. She "only" had to tell Harvey what that was…

She exited the shower that she had taken alone, a rare occurrence when they didn't have to go to work, and exhaled loudly. She suddenly felt nervous. The mighty Donna Paulsen was never nervous. Yet, here she was. Her short "I'm going to take a quick shower" had been enough to dissuade Harvey from joining her and she had been grateful for the moment of solitude. (He hadn't thought much of it, too worried himself about the present that he had picked for his girlfriend. It was more than a present in his eyes, it was their first Christmas as a couple, and it was certainly more than what she had intended when she had insisted on "giving each other something small" for Christmas. Too late for that, he contemplated anxiously.) Donna continued to get ready and to focus on her breathing. _It's going to be okay._ He _'s going to be okay. He wants it as much as you do. Breathe. Breakfast and presents first._ Then _vacation talk._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Harvey!" Donna exclaimed. "We agreed…"

"I know what we agreed upon, Donna", he interjected softly. "We said something small. They're small earrings", he added, knowing full well that he was trying to use his lawyer skills to win an argument against Donna.

Reading the jeweller's name on the box containing the pair of earrings AND knowing her boyfriend, she retorted with certainty, her pitch higher than usual because of Harvey's beautiful and only-small-in-size gift: "They're _diamonds_!"

" _Tiny_ diamonds", he defended himself with a faux sheepish grin. He knew that Donna sounded mad but he was hoping that she wasn't really mad. _These jewels are just too pretty to stay mad for longer than a few seconds, right?_

Donna kissed him softly on the lips. "I love them. Thank you, Harvey."

He beamed at her. "You're welcome, Donna."

Donna left for the bathroom, needing a mirror to put her new earrings on. She returned to find Harvey wearing his present instead of his old Harvard tee-shirt and proudly turning around so that she could appreciate her present from different angles, making her giggle in the process.

"I feel bad for only giving you a tee-shirt now…"

"But I _love_ my James Bond tee-shirt. I love it so much that I might never wear a Harvard tee-shirt again!"

They had started "dating" months ago (she didn't find the word strong enough to reflect the importance of that relationship in her life and only used it for lack of a better one at that point) and she was still surprised on a regular basis by how funny she could find him. She had always enjoyed his sense of humour: sarcastic, dark or self-deprecating. That being said, it was different altogether being on the receiving end of his sense of humour as his significant other. It was probably the most unexpected result of the change in their relationship from professional to romantic. Harvey was simply the best at making her smile, chuckle, giggle or laugh. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she had laughed so much, and out loud more often than not. Maybe he was _that_ funny. Maybe he wasn't. More likely, she was so in love with him that she found him hilarious regardless of what he said or did. In any case, she was ridiculously happy. _I'll have to blame you in the future, Harvey, for the new wrinkles that are sure to appear around my eyes and mouth!_

Harvey's words forced her mind to stop wandering: "They look good on you", he said earnestly, pointing at the earrings.

"Yeah. Who knew you were so good at buying not only your own presents but jewels in particular?!"

"Hey! Don't make me regret not giving you a keychain!"

"No! Please, no! I _love_ my "tiny" diamonds."

"You know what they say… Diamonds are forever…"

"I know, James."

"Aren't we good together?! Planning a perfect James Bond themed Christmas without even consulting each other!"

"The best", she replied immediately, no trace of teasing in her voice for once, in stark contrast with his own humorous comment. "Speaking of being good together, I think it's time we talk about our vacation…"

The re-direction of their conversation was seamless and Harvey's enthusiasm not feigned: "Yes! Where are we going?"

She grabbed the tablet that was on the coffee table and turned it on. She started by showing him where she had made reservations for the first four nights: the king suite, the fine dining restaurants located inside the resort, the pools (she mentioned the adult one twice), the nightlife, the casino, even the shops. A part of Harvey's brain registered the names Chanel, Christian Louboutin and Hermès but his attention was still mostly stuck on the location of the resort that he had seen as soon as Donna has opened the tablet next to him: Las Vegas. _Las Vegas? LAS VEGAS?! Relax! People go to Vegas simply to have fun. That doesn't mean that…_ His focus was brought back to the present when he heard the name of the room that Donna had booked for the second part of their vacation: Strawberry cactus. _Strawberry cactus?! Seriously?! Now, that's funny!_ He forced his mind to focus on what Donna was saying. Donna had also planned a stay in Sedona, Arizona, arguing that it would be the perfect place to "unplug" after the packed schedule that would accompany the first part of their vacation. She emphasized the relaxed atmosphere of the bed and breakfast that she had chosen and the many hiking opportunities in the vicinity, including the majestic Grand Canyon. She finished the detailed descriptions of the trip that she had organized for them and turned on her seat to face Harvey who was yet to utter a word, looking at him expectantly. "So? What do you think?"

Donna's nonchalant attitude almost threw him off. _What do I think?! I think it looks great but…_ "Let me get this straight, we're going to Vegas first, then to Arizona where we're going to visit the Grand Canyon?" Donna nodded. "With regards to Vegas, you planned where we're going to stay, the activities we're going to do, including shows, restaurants and even shopping?" Donna nodded again. "Is that all you planned?" he then asked, hopeful, refusing to inquire directly but unable to completely stay in the dark any longer. _Maybe Donna wants to go to Las Vegas to have a good time. Maybe she wants to do more while in the most famous city of the state of Nevada?_

Donna held Harvey's gaze and declared: "I did all the planning, Specter. Do I have to do all the talking as well?!" _Don't tell me you don't know what I'm telling you, Harvey!_

Harvey swallowed, never breaking eye contact. _Holy shit! This is happening! Yes! YES!_ The only explanation for what came out of his mouth (despite his inner monologue) is that his brain was overwhelmed by the magnitude of what Donna was implying because, instead of saying something along the lines of "let's do it!" or "that would be my honor", he said in a teasing manner: "I'm not changing my name to Paulsen!" Donna's reaction was one of surprise, mixed with a small dose of disappointment, which Harvey immediately identified and regretted. _Yeah, okay. Maybe not the best time to crack a joke…_ He took her left hand in his, touching her ring finger gently, and looked her in the eye adoringly. "Sorry. Let me do it again… Donna Paulsen, are you asking me to marry you?"

It was her turn to hold his gaze and swallow with difficulty. "Yes", she replied, her voice cracking against her will. She cleared her throat and started again. "Yes, I am", she said quietly. Donna had never felt so vulnerable. Yes, they had talked about getting married. _Harvey_ had talked about getting married. He had _joked_ about getting married in Las Vegas. But that wasn't a joke. She had planned their wedding and she desperately wanted the groom's approval.

Harvey waited for Donna to take in his relaxed expression and his loving smile to verbalize his response: "Then my serious answer is yes. YES! Of course, yes!" He chuckled before cupping her face in his hands and kissing his girlfriend. His _fiancée_ , his mind corrected.

They lost themselves in the kiss for a moment until Donna stopped them with a firm but gentle hand on his chest. "There's something else that I'd like us to discuss…"

"Okay…" Harvey wasn't a master planner like Donna but he had plans to celebrate their engagement. It involved a lot more kissing and a lot less clothing. He didn't appreciate the interruption but realized that Donna _was_ a master planner, therefore had probably a good reason to delay the execution of his own plans (which were without a doubt very obvious to her at that point).

"Two things actually. First, do you remember when I cancelled our lunch date to have a meeting with Katrina?"

"Of course."

"It wasn't for the firm. I huh… I hired Katrina as my lawyer." Donna looked for any sign of discomfort coming from Harvey at the revelation. Detecting none, she continued: "I asked her to write me a prenup agreement. I figured that we would need it. Please don't take it as me not trusting you because I do. I do trust you. And I trust that our relationship is strong and believe me, I'm not planning our separation or divorce at the same time as I'm planning our wedding." Harvey's hands on her shoulders made her pause. She hadn't realized that she hadn't taken a break in a while. She had been nervous to broach the topic with him, unsure of his reaction, and had barely breathed during her long tirade.

"Donna, relax." If his words weren't enough, his calm demeanor reinforced the message. "I'm a lawyer. My life is about contracts. When you start a business with a partner, you should have a solid contract to protect your assets. Entering a marriage is similar in that respect. In my opinion, everybody who gets married should write and sign a prenup. Those who don't are fools. They take unnecessary risks, regardless of the love they feel for the person they're about to marry. _We_ should sign one before getting married, not, like you said, that we don't trust each other or our relationship. Just because it's the smart thing to do and we're both smart people."

Donna let out a sigh of relief, glad to know that they were on the same page. "I hope you don't mind that I turned to Katrina… I didn't want to involve someone outside the firm." Harvey hummed in agreement. "And I preferred to go with Katrina, instead of Louis, Mike or Rachel because…"

"They're too close", Harvey suggested.

"Yeah."

"Katrina is a good lawyer. You picked well, Donna. Can you show it to me now?" Harvey spent the following minutes going over the document, nodding from time to time after reading certain sections. When he was done, he closed the file and gave it back to Donna. "I was right, Katrina _is_ a good lawyer: I wouldn't have written a better prenup agreement myself", he declared sincerely. "Not that I would have wished to write a prenup for you because that would have meant that you would have _not_ been about to marry me but I would have done it for you if you had asked…"

"Harvey", she said, putting her hands on his shoulders in a similar fashion as he had done earlier to calm her down, "it's okay. I'm _not_ about to marry someone else. _We_ are getting married. Does you approving this prenup mean that you will sign it?"

"Gladly", he responded quickly, smiling softly at her.

"Great. Thank you. There's something else that I wanted to discuss with you…"

"What is it, Donna?"

"Do you remember when I cancelled our other lunch date because I had a medical appointment?"

"Yes… You told me everything was alright."

"It was." _Was?!_ "It is." _Phew!_ "I didn't tell you everything when we talked about it. It was an appointment with my gynecologist." _Gynecologist?!_ Harvey's eyebrows raised simultaneously. "We talked about the fact that I was in a committed relationship and that I was… That _we_ were considering starting a family. She told me that I could stop taking my birth control pill as soon as I wanted." The hint of a smile appeared on Harvey's lips instantly. "Before you get your hopes too high, she warned me that it could take some time before it worked. Some women miss one dose and get pregnant right away. Others need to wait for months before it works. I don't know if you're still willing to start trying or…"  
"YES! I am. We can start as soon as you want to."

Donna smiled, her heart about to leap out of her chest. "There's one little problem though."

"There is?" The frown on Harvey's face indicated his confusion. "What is it?"

"The problem is that the moment when I'm supposed to be fertile is the day that we're getting married, December 31st. And it's not a problem in itself but I can't drink alcohol if we're going to try to… you know…"

Harvey's confusion evaporated in seconds. "Oh!" He grinned at her. "You're telling me that we're going to get married and have sex in Vegas while totally sober?! How shocking!" He put his hand on his chest for more emphasis.

"I'm serious here, Harvey", she admonished him.

"And I am too. We're going to get married on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas and you worry that we'll need alcohol to have fun? Come on, Donna! Give me more credit than that! Give _us_ more credit than that!" He scrutinized Donna's face and saw when doubt was replaced by hope and determination.

"Okay", she concluded eventually. "That's settled then, mister."

"Good. Can we go back to celebrating our engagement now?" At the word "engagement", Donna's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's right. You're my fiancée now, or I am yours, depending on how you want to look at it."

"I like the sound of that and yes, let's go back to celebrating our engagement!"

 _Holy shit! We're getting married AND we're going to try to make babies!_

Later that day, Harvey declared that his first Christmas with Donna was the absolute best of his entire adult life. (He would revise that statement the following year.)


	12. Harvey Specter, lawyer & luckiest man

_Author's notes: Happy New Year! And thank you so much for reading and reviewing the story so far. It means a lot to know that I'm not alone in my crazy (fictive) Darvey world. Donna and Harvey are getting married in this chapter! I took some liberty with the weather in Las Vegas in this chapter (and with the weather in Arizona in the next one). I know that it's supposed to be colder at this time of year than what I wanted it to be so I decided to change it. My story, my weather, right? Just like we're still in 2017 (soon 2018 for reasons that you'll discover in a couple of chapters). My story, my calendar! I know that I'm a year late but I promise there's a reason… Going back to this chapter, if you're curious about Donna's "wedding dress", google "2015 Golden Globe Awards" and you'll have a better idea. The rating for this chapter might a little more mature than initially planned (some language + a scene towards the end that took me a loooooong time to finalize and that I hopefully managed to write successfully). Enjoy and do not hesitate to leave a review :)_

 _December 26-30, 2017_

When Donna and Harvey went back to the office, they met with Katrina to sign their prenup agreement. Harvey felt a little awkward in his younger colleague's presence. Sharing with her such an important part of his personal life was weird. Donna was more practical: she needed a lawyer that she could trust and that would be fair. Katrina hadn't disappointed in drafting the document and was the ultimate professional during their meeting, even though she clearly found the situation a bit unsettling as well. Harvey was her boss after all and there she was, somehow connected to the firm's (secret?) power couple. It was a lot to take in for the reserved, yet ambitious, lawyer. She tried to focus on the legal side of things and keep her questioning about their (very secret) upcoming wedding to a minimum. Her philosophy: the less she knew, the less she would have to lie (at least by omission) when people at the firm would comment on their simultaneous absence from the office. The only other person in the loop, besides her, was David as the accomplice that she needed to plan their wedding and upcoming vacation.

Donna had dragged her executive assistant to her favorite store in town to help her shop for the wedding. David was more than a willing participant as Donna was a shopping dream partner: she possessed an impeccable sense of fashion and had the kind of body that allowed her to wear almost anything (and wear it beautifully). She usually knew what she wanted and the dress that she eventually picked wasn't an actual wedding dress. "No white for this bride, thank you very much", she had told David in her typical sassy tone. She had indeed fallen in love with a red dress that wasn't what she was necessarily going for in the first place (she only knew she didn't want something traditional) but that had made her say "that's the one" as soon as she had seen it. She was planning on pairing it with nude high heels in order to let all the attention fall on the bright color of the dress. It wouldn't show a lot of skin: except for a front slit along her left leg, it was a floor length piece (at least in the back) and had short sleeves. In other words, it wasn't too revealing (no hint of a cleavage to distract Harvey!) but she found it sexy, elegant (the details of the lace, especially on the sleeves, were to die for) and just right for New Year's Eve. She was confident that Harvey would be surprised by her bold choice and, hopefully, he would love the dress as much as she did. Assisted by David, they found a tie and breast pocket square that matched the color of her dress and that would add a festive touch to the new dark gray suit that she had ordered for him (having his tailor in her contacts was very useful).

The only shopping Donna and Harvey did together was for their wedding bands. As much as Donna wanted to keep their respective outfits a surprise, she couldn't make all the decisions by herself and needed Harvey (his hand and his opinion) to settle on one of the most important parts of their wedding ceremony and the visual symbol of their union for the rest of their lives. They left the office that day relatively early (for them) and Ray swiftly drove them to Cartier. The attendant was waiting for them with a wide selection of style and shapes. In the end, they opted for classic wedding bands: identical rings in 18K yellow gold, 2.5mm for her and 3.5mm for him. Understated but unequivocal. They looked like wedding bands and that was what they both preferred. As hesitant as they had been to reveal their relationship to the world initially, they had agreed not to hide their status as newly weds once they would be back from their vacation ("You keep saying "vacation", Donna, but I think it's called a honeymoon!"). On a related note, they planned how they were going to break the news to their friends at the firm upon their return.

Another crucial aspect of their future as a married couple was concerning their living arrangements. They had alternated between Donna's place and Harvey's place since August, happy to spend their time together regardless of the location. It had necessitated a little bit of organization (Donna's strong suit) and a little bit of good will (Harvey's forte when it came to Donna) to make it work but they had managed and it had only proved problematic a few times when Harvey had to stop by his condo before going to the office, having forgotten to bring the right tie to go with his suit that day. They hadn't made time to have that particular discussion, not by fear of not being in agreement, more because they were always so busy with the firm that they wanted to relax when they had the chance and because they liked the state of their relationship, hectic living arrangements included. In any case, they finally sat down to talk and, after a few pros and cons from both of them, it was decided that Donna would move in with Harvey. The decisive argument in Harvey's favor was succinctly summed up by Donna: "You have more closet space, babe." They also discussed what would happen should they be successful in starting a family. They settled on getting used to living together first but were aware that, with any luck, they would have to find another place to accommodate their growing needs in the near future.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday December 30, 2017_

They left New York City and its thin lawyer of snow mid-afternoon and landed hours later in a much warmer weather, ready to enjoy their first evening in Las Vegas. They stopped by their 5-star hotel to drop off their luggage in their king suite, then quickly walked to the Japanese restaurant where Donna had made a reservation in advance. Considering that she wanted to take every precaution necessary if or when she would be pregnant, she suggested that they had sushi for supper while she was still resolutely _not_ pregnant (yet hoping that she soon wouldn't be able to eat sushi, at least for several months).

"You know, I like our suite, including the impressive floor-to-ceiling views of the Las Vegas strip, but I was kind of hoping that you would have booked the honeymoon suite at the Wynn…"

Donna scoffed. "One, you're going to be surprised to learn that they _don't_ have a honeymoon suite. They have different types of suites but _no_ honeymoon ones. I guess that would be too popular here…" She shrugged and added in a teasing tone: "And two, I would appreciate more gratitude coming from you: I had to work on a very tight schedule to secure our accommodations in this city and you should be happy that we're not sleeping at the motel by the airport!"

"Oh, I'll show how grateful I am tonight!"

Harvey's eyes were fire and Donna "I'm always cool, even when men blatantly flirt with me" Paulsen couldn't prevent the blush from appearing on her cheeks. _Damn you, Harvey Specter._ Months into their relationship and she still felt like a teenager in love when her crush would talk to her. The power of Harvey Specter…

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So how do you know that tomorrow is THE day?" Harvey asked after eating the last sushi.

"Well, I have this app on my phone. A woman's app…"

"Wait! Is it the same app that Rachel uses?"

She acquiesced, intrigued by Harvey's enthusiasm. "And you know that because…"

"It's a funny story… Mike once insisted on the importance of having Rachel's "woman's app" synched to his phone as it, and I quote, "helped him figure when it was time to buy her chocolate and cuddle on the couch" as opposed to, and it's my interpretation here, planning "a romantic/sexy evening". You can imagine my discomfort of having this conversation with Mike about his fiancée who also happens to be my associate…"

"Hahaha! I would have _loved_ to hear that conversation and see your reaction while innocent Mike was simply being Mike, probably just thinking about making sure Rachel was okay and not having his mind in the gutter like another individual I know…"

Harvey didn't flinch under Donna's accusing gaze. He owned his less than pure mind and retorted: "I think I should install this app on my phone but only to know when my "special services" are needed. Especially in case it doesn't work this month." Harvey willing to install a woman's app on his phone left Donna speechless for a moment. Misinterpreting her silence for an onslaught of doubt, he was quick to add: "Not that it will _not_ work this month! I'm very confident that it could work. But, you know, for next time… In any case, how precise is this app? Does it tell you exactly when you should try or just the day?"

Donna chuckled. Having a mature exchange with Harvey about her app's fertility features was _not_ what she had expected of her first hours in Sin City! "It's only an app, Harvey. I'm not connected to actual fertility specialists…"

"Are you saying that you're not sure if we have to wait to be married to have sexual intercourse or if we should fornicate before?"

He had whispered the words "sexual intercourse" and "fornicate" in an attempt to be thoughtful (and discreet) about the adult conversation they were having in a restaurant full of people, an attempt somehow tampered by his wiggling eyebrows. _And here is the Harvey Specter that I love: unable to remain serious for too long and to resist making light of any situation!_ "Maybe we should err on the side of caution and…" She lowered her voice to imitate him, albeit more seductively: " _make love_ before AND after getting married."

Harvey's eyes darkened instantly. "That's an excellent plan, Donna." He cleared his throat and continued on a less risky topic: "What about the bride and groom not seeing each other the night before?"

"Harvey, we've had all the bad luck in the world when we were not a couple. I am not spending a night away from you unless I really have to. Do _you_ want to spend the night in another room?"

"Nope! Besides, you'll need me first thing tomorrow morning so it's convenient if I'm within reach."

"Glad we're on the same page, lover boy", she replied softly.

Harvey grinned. That night, before he fell asleep, he still had a smile on his lips. He was getting married to Donna Paulsen, the woman of his dreams, and was one lucky man.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Sunday December 31, 2017_

Jetlag or not, Donna woke up first as usual. It was the last day of 2017, a year that had been rich in emotion and that was about to finish with a bang. She giggled internally at her thoughts. The year was about to finish with a bang in the figurative sense of the term as well. She recalled Harvey's words from the night before ("you'll need me first thing tomorrow morning") and was glad that he indeed was within her reach, even though he was still dead to the world next to her. He was lying on his back, one arm over his head while the other was resting on his stomach. Donna took a few seconds to take in her boyfriend's (her _fiancé_ 's!) relaxed expression before letting her hand move under his tee-shirt. The light touch on his abs made him shift slightly, allowing her to explore further up. Donna's fingers became more purposeful when they reached his chest then travelled lower with the same intentions until they reach the waistband of his boxers. At that point, Donna's heartbeat was starting to betray how turned on she was by seeing Harvey slowly awaken under her ministrations. She got closer to him, searching for more contact between their bodies. Her hand cupped him over his boxers and that was when Harvey left the state between slumber and consciousness. She heard his breathing change and continued to caress him, feeling him harden progressively under her hand. "Hey babe", she eventually said, her lips so close to his ear that it was almost a kiss.

"Hey", he responded, his voice hoarse with sleep. He turned on his right side and his left hand found her shoulder, before trailing down her arm. He hummed as he watched her skin erupt in goosebumps, pleased of the reaction he had provoked. He looked at Donna's slightly disheveled appearance, completely free of make-up and couldn't help himself: "You're so beautiful." He kissed her softly on the lips and added: "You're beautiful when you're all arranged but I love it too when I can see all of the freckles on your face. I _loooove_ your freckles." He emphasized his statement with a kiss just under her collar bone where a galaxy of freckles could be distinguished.

Donna directed his face to hers and kissed him fervently, biting his lower lip at the end. She was getting impatient. She had been awake for longer than Harvey and she had thought about having her wicked way with him for just as long. She had no clue when she would be the most fertile (that morning or later that day or the following morning) but she decided that she didn't care. She wanted to feel connected to Harvey and sex was one of the best ways to achieve that. She lifted the hem of his tee-shirt, hoping that he would get the hint to speed things up. Her eagerness was contagious and he finally caught up, helping her discard his boxers, then assisting her taking _her_ sleeping clothes off. He hovered over her and glanced hungrily at her naked body, enjoying the skin on skin contact. "So, so beautiful", Harvey repeated reverently before capturing her lips in a fervent kiss that left them breathless and that was followed by a multitude of other ones, some shorter, some longer, all passionate and full of love. When they were next able to articulate a proper sentence, it was to suggest that they should shower and go in search of food. They were getting married in the afternoon and a brunch was the perfect meal for the engaged couple to sustain them until after the ceremony.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey could only remember certain parts of the ceremony that officially made him the luckiest man on Earth:

\- First seeing Donna in her "definitely not white wedding dress" as he called it (they had kept the tradition of dressing separately and only seen each other at the chapel).

\- Her smile, so radiant that it illuminated the room.

\- The ending of her vows: "I can't wait to be legally married to you, Harvey Specter, years after having joked that I had taken care of it and that we were already married. _We_ are taking care of it now. _We_ are getting married." She had teared up just a little at that time, regaining her composure after a deep breath, and finished simply: "I love you, Harvey. Will you marry me?"

\- The exchange of rings with his trembling hands, which would have embarrassed him if he hadn't been too happy to even notice.

\- Their first kiss (or first kisses) as a married couple: how drunken in love he had felt (and was still feeling hours later).

Yep, he had been an emotional mess as soon as he had laid eyes on Donna, aware that it was an impossible task to keep the tears at bay. "Happy tears", he had confirmed when she had reached him. He would argue that you're allowed to get emotional at your own wedding, yet he was secretly relieved that nobody they knew was there to witness it. His reputation as a cold, unbeatable lawyer might have suffered irremediably.

A professional photographer had been hired to immortalize the ceremony and she beautifully captured one of Donna's favorite moments: Harvey's reaction when he had initially caught sight of her. The fact that he rarely showed his emotions in public but allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of her and the celebrant was precious to her. ("Sorry for your reputation, Harvey", she would tell him when they were back in New York, contemplating their wedding pictures once again.) Happy tears or not, she had almost lost it then. What photographs couldn't show however were his heartfelt words later: "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met, Donna Paulsen. You're beautiful but you're not just a pretty face. You're wicked smart. You're funny. You're kind. _So_ _kind_. And you don't have the emotional intelligence of a snail, which is a big plus." Only Harvey could make her laugh and cry at the same time. "I love you, Donna, and I can only hope that I can make you as happy as you make me. For the record, you make me blissfully happy!" He exhaled slowly and concluded with: "What do you say we finally get married and start our honeymoon?" What the photographer successfully captured though was all the loving gazes and soft smiles that surrounded the exchange of rings and she was grateful for the visual proofs as her recollection of that instant was abnormally blurry. Fortunately, she could remember with great clarity the kisses that Harvey and her had shared as soon as the celebrant had pronounced them "husband and wife". Despite the low-key atmosphere of the ceremony and the absence of a crowd, Donna had felt a lot of emotions intensely: nervousness at the beginning (worse than for her most difficult acting roles, which she found RIDICULOUS), joy (of being there with Harvey), laughter (because he wouldn't miss a chance to make her laugh) and love, so much love. Her heart was full. They were married and she was over the moon.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The newly weds were slow dancing by the pool at the exclusive party organized at their resort, enjoying the bubble that they had created for themselves in the middle of the crowd. Donna was the one who broke the silence between them. "I love you", she said tenderly.

"Ha! I knew that there was another reason why you wanted to marry me. It wasn't just because of my questionable sense of humour…"

"I love your sense of humour", she replied, sounding nearly upset that he belittled himself.

"Don't go cheesy on me, Paulsen!"

"Don't worry. After today and your vows, we've established that you're the sentimental one. Not me!"

"Touché." Harvey chuckled and his mind went back to Christmas Day. "Thank you for the best Christmas present by the way!"

Donna frowned for a second, before understanding what he was referring to. "I thought your James Bond tee-shirt was the best Christmas present", she countered with a smirk.

"The best _material_ present. You announcing your intention to marry me on Christmas day was the best _symbolic_ present."

"Once a lawyer, always a lawyer, huh?!"

"You got it, Paulsen!"

"Next thing I'll know, you're going to declare that you gave me engagement earrings!"

"What if I did?!" he retorted without skipping a beat, his serious tone conveying the veracity behind his light-hearted response.

"I'd say you should have made it clearer in advance", she teased him.

"I think it's safe to say that you're the real MVP of this relationship. I _thought_ about proposing, with a ring, on Christmas Day but I didn't want to push you (yeah, I know, lame excuse in retrospect!) so I opted for diamonds earrings instead and… you beat me to it! Anyway, when you kissed me in your office in June: that was a true MVP move."

"Well, I don't have the emotional intelligence of a snail as you so eloquently put it in your vows…"

"Exactly", he concurred.

"You don't either", she added sincerely. "If I were to comment on your emotional intelligence now, I'd say that you're pretty close to having an _acceptable_ emotional intelligence", she winked at him.

Harvey feigned shock. "One of the best praises of the year! Thanks, Donna!" His grin wasn't feigned though. The running joke about his emotional intelligence, or lack thereof (at least until recently), had an underlying truth and every time that Donna complimented on reaching another level, he felt proud of his growth. _I have an_ acceptable _emotional intelligence!_ "So how long before we can ditch this party and start our wedding night?!"

"Patience, Harvey. I want to see the fireworks!"

"Oh, there were plenty of fireworks in our room this morning and there'll be plenty more tonight…"

"You're impossible!"

"Hey! You're the one who insisted on making our mission to procreate. I'm merely providing the magic component to the best of my abilities."

"Seriously, Harvey, it's our honeymoon and as much as I would love to get pregnant this month, I just want to enjoy it. I just want to enjoy my husband. And, if we happen to make a baby, that will be a bonus."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours later, Harvey finally, _finally_ , led Donna to their suite. He emphatically hung the "Do not disturb" sign on the handle outside and slammed the door by pushing Donna's back on it, his body as close to hers as possible. They had had a blast celebrating the New Year in festive company, dancing the night away, but they were both ready for a more private celebration, one that involved more kissing and less clothing.

"We're married", he murmured in between kisses. Donna hummed in agreement. "To each other", he added for good measure. _I can't believe we're married!_

The last part of his statement made her giggle, interrupting their kissing in the process. Donna took advantage of the opportunity to start undressing him: she divested him of his jacket and dealt with his belt next, forcing him out of his pants eagerly. As for Harvey, he resumed his kissing with a renewed fervor, first her lips, then her neck and every bit of skin he could reach. Donna let out a sigh of content. Harvey's hands and mouth were doing wonderful things to her body. She soon found herself in her matching set of lingerie as his nimble fingers had easily located the hidden zipper in the back of her dress. They were getting out of breath when Donna remembered one important detail. "Harvey, wait!"

He stopped immediately, alarmed by the inopportune interruption. "What is it?"

"Be a good husband and go check the fridge", she ordered him mysteriously. "And take off your socks while you're at it. You look ridiculous without your pants on."

"You look gorgeous with _and_ without your dress on", he stated over his shoulder.

"Ha! You're smooooth!"

Donna was expecting a witty comeback, maybe a smug "I know". When she heard nothing from him, she knew that he had discovered her surprise and she smiled to herself. It was a gift for the both of them.

Harvey stared at the can of whipped cream and the bowl of freshly cut strawberries with delight. _Best. Wife. Ever._ "I was wondering when we would bring this winning combination back", he said eventually while walking back to Donna, careful with the fruit container.

"Aren't you glad you married me?!"

Harvey forgot Donna's rhetoric question as soon as he saw her lying on their bed, waiting for him in the most seductive way imaginable: her skin exposed temptingly, her long hair in stark contrast with the white sheets on their bed, and her smile, flirtatious and playful at the same time. Harvey put the delicious ingredients on the side table and got rid of his tie and shirt before joining her on the bed.

She could see the fire in his eyes ( _good choice, Donna!_ ) and it fueled her own desire in return. Harvey's cold fingers made her flinch initially but they quickly warmed up. While his caresses were soft and reverent, his gaze was all lust. He reached behind her back to remove her bra and grabbed the can of whipped cream soon after. He held it between them, pondering what to do next. He settled for drawing a small heart on her left breast, over her heart. He liked that she couldn't see the shape but he could. _I love you, Donna._ He licked it and shifted on the bed to capture her lips and share the sweetness with her. It was only the beginning of a feast for the senses for the redhead and for Harvey. Harvey's subsequent move was to draw a vertical line between her breasts and to get rid of it either by using pieces of strawberry (and eating them, of course) or by licking it for an even more tantalizing experience. Donna inhaled sharply the instant the cold substance touched its next target, her left nipple. Harvey cleaned the sensitive area with his mouth, reveling in Donna's sighs of pleasure and squirming body under him. He repeated his actions with her right nipple and provoked a similar reaction from the redhead. He took a short break, as much for Donna as for himself, picking a strawberry and popping it into his mouth before kissing her tenderly on the lips. It was his wedding night and he wanted to take his time and savour every second of it. _You only have one wedding night!_ He then locked eyes with her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, leaving Donna in a state of anticipation that filled her with electricity. He repositioned himself lower on the bed and unhurriedly took her thong off. _Finally_ , Donna thought. She was already extremely aroused and Harvey hadn't even touched her where she needed him the most. She was expecting what came next (she had indeed followed with her eyes his hand from the bowl on the bedside table to its destination, _her_ ) yet she couldn't help but gasp when he used the piece of strawberry to tease her clit and slid it along her folds. He devoured the fruit quickly and spread whipped cream on the same region, licking it meticulously while Donna was trying to contain her moans. Harvey was driving her crazy and she wanted to feel him completely. As much as she usually enjoyed him going down on her (and she did, _a lot_ ), she craved to have him inside her so she gently tugged on his hair to catch his attention.

"Come here", she instructed him, kissing him passionately as soon as he was at her level. She groaned when their tongues came into contact and she tasted herself. Mixed with whipped cream and what was uniquely Harvey, the sensation was intoxicating and her impatience only grew. "I need these off", she said, touching his boxers. " _Now_."

"So bossy", he mumbled on the skin of her neck.

"Shut up. You love it!"

"I do", he confessed, assisting her with removing the last piece of clothing that was preventing their bodies to connect intimately. "And I love your body. So gorgeous", he added, aligning himself with her and entering her in one slow motion. Donna's moan covered his hard breathing. "So responsive." He opened her further by lifting one of her legs above his hip and was rewarded by another loud moan when he penetrated more deeply. "So flexible."

Even in that moment of passion, she couldn't let him have the last word. "Is it the R-rated version of your wedding vows?!" she asked in between ragged breaths.

"Focus, Donna", Harvey demanded. The temperature was rising in the room and he reached her nipple with his right hand, rubbing it in sync with his thrusts.

"Oh fuck", she managed to express. Harvey's combined actions were hitting all the right places.

He grazed his teeth on the column of her throat and whispered teasingly: "That's better."

Donna felt his smirk on her skin. _Stop gloating!_ She was about to reprimand him out loud but he increased his tempo and her initial words were quickly replaced by more urgent ones: "Don't stop! Please, don't stop!"

"I wasn't planning to", he responded, panting. They continued their sensual dance in a wild rhythm that was gradually bringing both of them closer to the edge. Donna was holding onto him desperately, her fingernails digging in his shoulder blades, while he was trying to maintain the same pace. "God… Donna?" Despite his best intentions, his release was imminent and he wanted Donna to finish with him.

She implicitly understood his question. "Right there," she breathed with difficulty, "with you." She could sense her orgasm approaching, warmth spreading throughout her body and her inner walls beginning to clench around him. Harvey could sense it too, simply by the sounds she was emitting. Donna's moans were getting louder and louder and she was just able to repeat one word in erratic succession: "Yes. Yes! Yes! YES!" She was hardly the only one losing it, the room filled with matching grunts from Harvey. A long and deep moan soon followed as Donna's entire body tensed under the intense wave of pleasure that washed over her and he finally let go, reaching his own climax at last. She wrapped her arms around him to keep him from moving, willing to prolong their blissful embrace a bit more. They eventually had to separate and Harvey flopped on his back next to her, both lying with their arms limp on either sides of their body and still trying to catch their breath. They stayed in silence for a moment before Harvey spoke up: ""God, I love married sex!"

Donna giggled. "Come on, Husband. We need a shower." Harvey arched an eyebrow in silent questioning. "This suite might not be a honeymoon suite but the shower is certainly designed for couples!" They were both sweaty and covered in various liquid substances but Donna also intended to continue their night of celebrations (and enjoy her husband) in the process.


	13. Vegas, baby!

_Author's notes: Summary for this chapter: Donna and Harvey starting the new year in bed or what they really did on their honeymoon in Las Vegas ;)_

 _Are you ready for the return of Suits on our screens? I'm not sure I am… Thomas Kessler?!_

 _Fortunately, we have fanfiction so enjoy this new chapter and maybe leave a review :)_

 _Monday January 1_ _st_ _, 2018_

"Good morning, Donna", Harvey whispered before continuing his kissing trail down her body. It had started with her neck, then moved to the top of her breasts and he had finally reached her abs when she had finally woken up.

She glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table and raised an eyebrow while staring at him. "Or "good afternoon" considering what time it is…"

"I see that us getting married hasn't changed your desire to correct me whenever you get the chance."

"I'm not going to apologize for who I am", she retorted.

He gave her a small smile and replied with a genuine smile: "I wouldn't dream of it."

She smiled back. _You're too cute and I'm too tired._ "How are you even awake?!" Their night had been very short in terms of actual sleeping. After a long and hot (literally and figuratively) shower (which was indeed perfect for couples), they had retreated to the living room part of their suite, talking and cuddling with some jazz in the background, before making love once more in their bed and finally succumbing to sleep.

Harvey being up before Donna wasn't usual but there was a first for everything. "You see, I woke up remembering that my fiancée of less than a week and I got married yesterday and that got me all excited…"

She could feel his erection on her thigh and smirked. "I can tell that you're pretty excited right now", she retorted teasingly.

He chuckled (g _uilty!_ ) before continuing his descent below her navel as his way to tease her back. "There's also the fact that we're trying to start a family. That's pretty exciting too."

"Speaking of which, that's not how we're going to succeed", she giggled.

"I don't care. That's what I want to do", he replied and began using his tongue on her, making her squirm under him and sigh in pleasure. It took Harvey a full second to register what he had just said in his advanced state of lust. His head shot up, concern written all over his face. "Sorry… Do you want me to stop?"

Donna smiled and shook her head. _Now is_ not _the time to think about consent, Harvey._ Her hand went to caress his hair, product free and so soft. "Please continue." And Harvey did. It was slow and gentle, almost too slow and too gentle, and Donna briefly worried that it wouldn't be enough to bring her to orgasm. _Yeah, no need to worry_ … Harvey's talented mouth brought her slowly but surely over the edge and a very satisfied smile graced her lips soon after. Having an orgasm within 10 minutes of waking up on the first day of January and the day after marrying the one and only Harvey Specter had that effect on her. "Happy new year to me!", she could have joked. "I love you", she said instead.

"And that's a good thing because you married me!"

"It is. Now, shut up and make love to me!"

He didn't respond with words but Donna noticed his eyes getting darker at her words. _Happy new year to me!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hold your horses, mister! I said _I_ was going to take a shower. _Not you_. My body needs food and rest. And I'm sure yours too."

"Well, I had a lot of strawberries and whipped cream last night", he countered with a faux air of seriousness.

She laughed out loud. "You're an idiot! As I was saying, I'm going to take a shower and instead of pouting that you're not with me in the shower, you're going to order us some food. Okay?"

"Fine."

Breakfast was a grandiose affair with a wide selection of food: a ham and cheese omelette with potatoes, eggs Benedict served with shredded hashbrowns, French toasts with a mountain of fresh fruits, chocolate chip pancakes, freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee (with splashes of vanilla). Before they dug in, Donna took a picture of their feast and figured that it would make a good response to the message that Rachel had sent her at midnight (Eastern Time): "Happy new year, Donna! Will you finally tell me where you are?!" Donna's text was humorous and evasive in equal doses but the picture would certainly be appreciated by her foodie friend (she had to crop it to remove any clue related to their secret destination): "I'm in heaven!" Despite the absence of visual clues, Rachel suspected that Donna and Harvey were currently not on the East Coast as it wouldn't make much sense otherwise to have breakfast that late in the day. Another text message appeared on Donna's phone less than two minutes after she had answered Rachel. It was from Alicia, her American friend from Cannes. They had remained in contact since July, exchanging regular text messages to keep each other in the loop.

"Happy new year, my friend! I hope that 2019 is treating you well so far!"

"See for yourself!" (picture of their sumptuous meal attached)

"I'm so jealous! I only had waffles. Not even homemade. From the freezer." *unamused face emoji*

Donna smiled and swiftly got up. She stood in front of one of the large windows of their suite and took a picture of her left hand with the Las Vegas strip in the background. "There's also that." *smiling face with sunglasses emoji*

"WHAT?! DONNA?! YOU GOT MARRIED?! WHEN?! IN VEGAS?!"

"Yes. Yesterday. In Vegas." *smiling face with smiling eyes emoji*

"OMG! It's such a cliché! Did you "accidentally" get married?!" *wine glass emoji* *cocktail glass emoji* *tropical drink emoji*

"Nope. We were totally sober!" *smiling face with halo emoji*

"CONGRATULATIONS! (Also, haha! I hope you were!) I'm so happy for you!" *red heart emoji*

"Thank you! We're very happy." *two red heart emojis*

"No engagement ring btw?" *ring emoji*

"I kind of proposed so… no…" *smirking face emoji*

"Of course you did! You go, girl! Did you go down on one knee?!" *upside-down face emoji*

"I did not but he still said yes!" *heart eyes emoji*

"Wait! You got married yesterday and you're spending all this time on your phone with me? I mean…"

"1) He's in the shower. 2) We needed a little break after last night (and this morning)." *winking face emoji*

"TMI, Donna!" *stop sign emoji*

"Sorry." *beaming face with smiling eyes*

"Whatever…" *face blowing a kiss emoji*

*face blowing a kiss emoji*

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Donna was very pleased with her choice of resort as she loved the suite that she had booked and the resort had everything that you could expect (and more) from a luxury establishment such as that one. It notably had a Chanel boutique, which was a BIG plus in Donna's book. There were many fine dining options on the premises and they made reservations at a steakhouse for supper ("We need protein after all this exercise, Donna."). They went for a short walk before going to the adult pool ("Yes, Harvey, an adult pool. I already mentioned that. Weren't you listening?"). They found two lounge chairs away from other patrons and Harvey disappeared in search of refreshments. Donna took her white Bermuda shorts off and started unbuttoning her Levi's boyfriend shirt to reveal a blue bikini. From the bar, Harvey glanced behind him and admired Donna and her enticing body. He knew that her bikini would drive him crazy until the two small pieces of clothing would be covered again. Then he remembered seeing Donna wearing something supposedly not sexy (shorts and a shirt that was almost too large for her) and concluded that she, surprisingly or not, always found a way to make any outfit sexy. There's no escape, he mused, sighing. The cold drinks would be welcome at least. On her end, Donna was about to open the book that she had brought in her large bag when an elegant woman, approximately her age, accosted her.

"New ring?"

Donna felt self-conscious immediately. Yes, the ring was new and she wasn't used to wearing a wedding band, hence the intermittent touching with her thumb. "It is", she replied evenly. She wasn't there to make new friends. She just wanted to enjoy the warm weather and relax by the pool with her husband.

Not rebuffed by Donna's noncommittal response, the stranger continued to probe: "First time in Vegas?"

"Actually, no. First time in a long time though", she offered. Because she was polite and Harvey wasn't back yet she returned the favor: "You?"

"Oh no", she answered, her gaze never leaving Donna and a mysterious smile on her lips, "my husband and I come here on a regular basis. We're from LA."

Harvey noticed Donna talking to a woman and frowned, cursing the bartender for taking so long to prepare his order. _What does she want?_ He eventually made his way back to Donna with his drinks, examining the stranger with suspicion. Her body language in particular was telling. The woman took her leave before he reached Donna and he followed her with his gaze. She joined a man sitting on a chair at another corner of the pool and they both looked in their direction before resuming their conversation.

"Having fun flirting?" he asked innocently but his clenched jaw betrayed his attempt at detachment.

Donna turned to Harvey, offended: "I wasn't…"

"Oh, but she was", he interjected. "Believe me, I recognized it. She was looking at you like you were a piece of meat."

 _She wasn't, was she?_ Donna didn't want to admit that she might be wrong so she deflected: "If that's the case, it simply shows that I'm irresistible."

"Don't I know it", he muttered to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Their meal at the steakhouse was delicious ("See, Donna, your body needed steak!") and they went to a casino to digest. Donna first tried her luck, unsuccessfully, at roulette ("Always bet on red, Donna. Always.") while Harvey sat down for a game of poker afterwards. He ended winning more than $10,000 and proudly proclaimed that as soon as they would be back in New York he would open two bank accounts for their children, divide the money in equal parts and deposit it.

Donna raised an eyebrow. "Our _still_ hypothetical children?"

"Our _future_ children. We're going to have kids, Donna. One way or another." He shrugged nonchalantly and Donna could only smile at his apparent confidence.

"It must be your lucky day", the person behind the counter said as she was counting his chips.

Harvey gave the man a polite smile and left with Donna, her hand firmly in his. "Not to be cheesy or anything but I think my lucky day was the day when I met you."

"It took you long enough to admit it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"You two make a beautiful couple", the woman from earlier commented as she joined the pair at the bar, her husband in tow.

Harvey once again eyed the woman suspiciously. _Why would she think that we want her company?!_ He let Donna answer for the two of them and heard her response ("Oh, that's so kind. Thank you.") while focusing on the man beside. The man and the woman introduced themselves properly and it wasn't long before Harvey's suspicions were confirmed.

"Would you like to join us in our suite after your drinks here are finished?"

Donna tensed at the (indecent) proposal. Sensing her discomfort, Harvey jumped in: "I'm afraid we can't. We're going to a show tonight."

"We are?" asked Donna, confused by the situation and even more by Harvey's excuse.

"Yes. Surprise!"

"How romantic", the woman exclaimed. "Feel free to call us later or tomorrow for a rain check. We're in room 2472 in the Encore Tower."

Her suggestive tone didn't have the intended effect on the newly weds since Harvey excused them, pretexting that they had to get ready for their show.

"A surprise show, huh?!"

"The surprise is that I was right and you didn't see it coming", he offered, teasingly.

"She just invited us to their suite!" she exclaimed.

"Yes and it was to share more than a drink! More like a bed or…"

"Oh god", she groaned, embarrassed that, for once, she had been clueless.

"Do you want to go to a show tonight? I had to improvise but I'm sure we could find a show tonight if we wanted to."

"I have a better idea", she replied mysteriously.

Harvey learned a few minutes later that Donna's idea was indeed better than his. It involved him, naked, lying on his back in bed, Donna, also naked, a wicked smile on her lips and a can of whipped cream in hand. _Definitely a better idea._ It would become one of the most memorable moments of his honeymoon and he would complain that it was problematic in itself ("When people will ask what we did on our honeymoon, all I'll be able to think about is whipped cream, Donna. Not cool!") but Donna would know that it wasn't a serious complain. His reaction at the time (from his half-hearted "you don't have to" to his loud "oh god!") would tell her so, just like his arm on his face to cover his eyes and prevent him from unraveling prematurely (he had a lot of self-control but if feeling Donna's lips on him was somewhat manageable, _seeing_ her was definitely too much).

XXXXXXXXXXXX

For their last full day in Las Vegas, Donna and Harvey did a little bit of shopping ("a _lot_ of shopping", according to Harvey). They spent at least two hours in the Chanel boutique where Donna found a dress that would be ideal for a future gala (she only needed the gala to go with it) and a new tie for Harvey ("Babe, it's black and silk and it'll be great with your new suit."). Christian Louboutin was their next stop and Harvey was amazed that it was a quick one but not an unsuccessful one as Donna bought two new pairs of high heels. They finished their shopping expedition by going to Hermès ("one can never have too many handbags", they had declared simultaneously in front of the store, laughing at their synchronicity) and left with another purse for Donna and a new wallet for Harvey. Later that day, they embarked on a "Haunted Vegas Tour and Ghost Hunt" which was unexpectedly fun and attended an actual show in the evening. They had never seen any Cirque du Soleil performances before and they both agreed that the hype wasn't exaggerated: it was an amazing show (the " _Jesus_ , this is crazy" kind) and they enjoyed every minute of it. They then had a late dinner at an Italian restaurant where Donna ordered pasta, Harvey pizza and they shared both, ending their meal with a succulent gelato: coffee for Donna ("Gelato and coffee: what's not to love?") and strawberry for Harvey ("What? I find strawberries irresistible."). They concluded the first part of their honeymoon by watching (and photographing) the Bellagio Fountains at night which was beautiful despite being THE place to photograph and be photographed in Vegas.


	14. What happens in Vegas

_Author's notes: Our favorite couple is back in New York City and it's time for them to come out as an official couple… If you're curious about Donna's dress that's going to appear later in the chapter, google "Sarah Rafferty People's Choice Awards 2015" and you'll have a better idea (you're welcome). I couldn't find the name of the designer for the dress (despite spending_ a lot of time _online searching) so I decided on one. Donna deserves the best, right?_

 _Tuesday January 9, 2018 - Donna's office_

"Time to reveal that what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas…"

"Same thing for what happens in Arizona", Donna added, pointing at the new frame on her desk with a picture of her and Harvey during their honeymoon. The picture was part of a collection of three selfies taken on one of their hikes in the Grand Canyon. The ensemble was now framed and waiting to be hung up at Harvey's condo, their new home, but Donna had wanted a picture for her office (and Harvey had been quick to copy her and install a similar frame in his office when he had arrived earlier that morning).

Harvey smiled, having a flashback to their first morning in the wonderfully named room of their bed and breakfast ("Strawberry cactus? I honestly thought you had made that up!"). He recalled how he had gradually woken Donna up with his fingers, then how they had made love. Donna proclaiming how much she _loved_ their new morning routine and him being cheeky as usual with "and how will you take your orgasms tomorrow morning?" to which she had seductively responded "surprise me!"

Donna also had flashbacks to their stay in Sedona. In one of them she was sleeping on her stomach and had been, once again, woken up by her husband. He had only used his lips first, lavishing her neck and back. Then he had used other parts of his body to bring her to ecstasy. The position might have been less commonly adopted by the couple, the end result was similar.

 _Married sex is indeed amazing._

"I thought you could enjoy your husband from a different angle", he had declared once he had caught his breath afterwards.

Donna, still on her stomach, breathing hard: "Good one, Specter!"

"Are you talking about my play on words or your latest orgasm?!"

Donna had another flashback to an afternoon by the pool when Harvey had seen her doze off and had dragged her to their room.

"We can take a nap later if you want", he had argued then.

"A nap? A real nap? Will you _really_ let me sleep if we're near a bed?"

"If you want me to. Or I can make sure you're relaxed enough to fall asleep for said nap a little while later…"

"Seems more like you!"

"I'm a very practical man, Donna!" _You can't expect me to see you in a bikini and not react to your sexy body._ "It's a win-win situation really: I'll finally get to remove these _offending_ pieces of clothing from your body and you'll get to nap, eventually."

Harvey's voice brought her back to the present: "You ready for this?"

She looked at him intently and stepped closer to him, her face aligned with his thanks to her high heels. "Almost. I need to get something back first."

"I'm not giving you your heart back", he retorted instantly with his most serious expression, making her giggle in the process.

"You're such a sap!" She didn't elaborate but continued to enter his personal space, her lips so close to his that he could feel her breath on his face and her left hand brushing over his right hip before going lower.

"Remind me again who wanted to limit the public displays of affection at the office?"

She smirked at his teasing remark and was about to steal a kiss from him when Mike's voice interrupted their moment and forced them to put more distance between each other: "Come on, guys! Is it part of your New Year resolutions to start making out at the office in the middle of the day?!"

"It's not what you think, Mike", Donna replied defensively. "I was just retrieving something from Harvey's pockets."

"What?! _A condom_?!"

Harvey looked like the cat who had just eaten the canary. _No more condoms for us, my friend._

"Haha, very funny, Mike." Without a word, Donna handed Harvey his wedding ring and put hers back on her finger. They both had had meetings first thing in the morning and had decided to hide their new status before their closest friends had been personally informed, hence Harvey being the guardian of their precious bands for their first hours back at work.

"Huh?" Mike blinked twice to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. "Rings? RINGS?!"

"OH MY GOD! YOU GOT MARRIED!" Those were Rachel's first words. She had followed the exchange with curiosity, entering Donna's office with Mike but preferring to remain silent initially.

With a nod of confirmation from Donna, Rachel congratulated the newly weds and went to hug her friend, while Mike did the same with Harvey. Mike hugged Donna tightly right after as Rachel gave a briefer hug to her boss.

Rachel was ecstatic for the couple and needed some time to recover, Mike not so much: "Did you go to Vegas or something?!"

Harvey chuckled. _Bingo!_ "Yes, actually."

"No", he replied back, shocked.

"Yes", Donna and Harvey repeated at the same time.

"Sorry I'm late! What did I miss?"

Harvey's smug smile was back on his face. _Excellent timing, Louis!_

"They got married", Rachel said, indicating the couple next to her, disbelief still present in her voice.

"In Vegas", added Mike with emphasis.

"No", Louis responded with the same incredulous expression as Mike minutes earlier.

Not surprised by the older lawyer's reaction, the couple answered with another clear "yes" accompanied by matching grins and their left hands proudly raised to show their new wedding bands.

Louis turned to Harvey and retorted with an accusing tone: "You _dragged_ her to Vegas?"

" _I_ dragged him to Vegas", Donna interjected calmly. "But he wasn't opposed", she added with a sly smile at her husband.

"It was your idea?! Why would you do that?!"

"Louis, I know this may come as a surprise to you and you may be disappointed that we chose to elope but it was our wedding and we're very happy so I hope", she glanced at Harvey and corrected herself, " _we hope_ that you're going to be happy for us too and be able to join us on Saturday night for the little reception that we've planned to celebrate with everyone."

His gaze had not left Donna while she talked and he realized that his outburst had been totally selfish. "I'm sorry, you're right. I'll be honored to attend your reception on Saturday!"

"Thank you, Louis."

After the two friends had hugged and Harvey had endured another hug from a colleague, Mike who hadn't missed the new addition on Donna's desk commented on the picture: "If we can see more pictures like this one, I might be willing to forgive you for getting married without us… I mean, I like the magnificent landscape, the sun, the light and your loving gazes but I must confess that I really dig the beard, Harvey…"

Everyone's attention was brought to the frame and Harvey couldn't resist poking at his friend: "It's a beard for you maybe, a mere stubble for me, Mike…"

"Ouch", he replied, exaggerating his hurt by putting his hand on his chest.

"It's a great picture", Louis offered, "you two look very happy."

The couple beamed.

"You do. It's a lovely picture, Donna", Rachel concurred.

"Does Harvey have one in his office too?!"

"He does, Mike."

"I do", Harvey confirmed.

 _Oh my god, he is so whipped!_

 _Awwww! They are so in love!_

 _I need a day!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday January 13, 2018_

"Good speech, Bro. But did you think that a two-minute photo montage would be enough to compensate for eloping in the first place?!"

"Don't listen to Marcus, Harvey. It was a lovely speech and I loved being able to see the pictures of your wedding and honeymoon. And the reception is amazing! I can't believe that you organized it on such short notice."

"Thanks, Mom. Donna did an amazing job. She's the absolute best."

"Thank you, Lily, but it was a real team effort", she replied, blushing at Harvey's high praise.

"Well, we both know who chose the music", she winked at the redhead who laughed in return.

"One of Dad's friends actually helped us secure this place."

"I'm glad. It's a beautiful venue!"

Donna stared at Harvey and noticed his smile. It was a genuine one. She was so proud of her husband. _He has grown so much._ Harvey was now not only able to think about his father without feeling sad like he used to but he was also able talk about him to his mother without any awkwardness, just happiness. He was indeed happy that, at least indirectly, his father was part of the celebrations for his wedding and happy to share the moment with his loved ones, mother included. Lily in return was grateful to be in her son's life again and being able to witness that important milestone was a sure sign that their formerly strained relationship was now repaired.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Congratulations, Harvey! I wasn't sure this merger was in the cards for you two… Not officially, I guess."

"Well, Jessica, we have an old friend who recently got married and she seemed pretty happy about it so we decided to give it a try."

Harvey's former mentor smiled at his quip.

"What did we decide to give it a try?" Donna interrupted.

"Married life", Jessica replied.

"Ha! Yes", Donna said, "so far so good!"

"You tell me if I need to intervene and keep him in line!"

"I think we'll be good but thanks, Pearson."

"Anytime, Paulsen. It's still, Paulsen, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you convinced him to change his name to Paulsen yet?"

"I'm working on it…"

"I think it would look great on the firm's wall. But maybe you would prefer to hyphenate, Harvey? Specter-Paulsen?!"

Donna almost chuckled at Harvey's unimpressed expression. "While I think Paulsen Litt sounds _much_ better, I could settle for Specter-Paulsen Litt if necessary", she replied seriously.

"Are you two done?!"

"Are we, Jessica?!"

"I don't know, Donna. It feels good to make fun of him… And it's so easy too!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So you're Harvey!"

"The one and only."

"I've heard a lot about you and it's nice to finally meet you."

"Same, Alicia. And I'm not as naïve to think that it was all good."

"I won't insult you by lying and telling you that you're wrong."

"I appreciate the honesty. And I appreciate you being here today. I know that Donna was very happy that you could make it!"

"I'm very happy to be here. Thanks for inviting me. And I'm happy that things worked out for you two."

"Me too."

"Are you two playing nice?"

"Don't worry, Donna. We are. Harvey and I were chatting very amicably, weren't we?"

He nodded. "We were."

"I'm glad."

Harvey excused himself and Donna turned her attention to her friend who had travelled all the way from Vancouver for the weekend. _We've come a long way since Cannes…_

"As I was saying to Harvey earlier, I'm happy that things worked out for you two."

Donna lowered her gaze and smiled to herself. "Well, it feels unreal sometimes to think that so much has changed in the last few months. In the last few weeks even…"

"Yeah, you have a _husband_ now!"

"I know! Crazy, right?!"

"So what's the deal with your old phone?"

"Oh, I loved my phone! It's kind of a sad story… We were on a hike and I wanted to take a picture but Harvey thought it would be funny to scare me and I dropped it. It broke instantly. I was fortunate that it happened at the end of our honeymoon and that they were able to retrieve all the pics that were stored on the phone's SD card, otherwise I would have been very mad at him. And now I have a brand-new phone…"

"New year, new phone, new ring. Anything else is new?"

"Not that I can think of."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"How's being married so far, Batman?"

"Great. Thank you, Robin", Harvey replied cordially, though he was not lured into thinking that Mike would let him off the hook so easily.

"Las Vegas, Harvey… Come on, it's so cliché, getting married in Vegas!"

 _You're so predictable, Mike…_ "You're simply jealous that I went to Vegas and that I tied the knot before you."  
"I am not. For the record, I like being engaged and don't mind being engaged for more than a week."

"Some of us don't need months to know that they want to get married…"

Mike scoffed. "So, what did you do on your honeymoon? Your photo montage was nice but on the short side."

 _Whipped cream. Whipped cream. Whipped cream. Wh…_ "What people usually do in Vegas", he replied casually.

"Casino then?"

"Obviously." _And whipped cream._

"How much did you lose?"

"For your information I did _not_ lose anything. I won. Quite a lot actually. I don't have your memory skills but I can play poker with the best and yeah, I won my fair share of deals…" _And we had whipped cream. Twice._

"What else? Shows?"

"One."

"Celine Dion?!"

"Why would you suggest that?!"

Mike chuckled at Harvey's appalled expression. "I don't know… Maybe it has something to do with your impassionate speech about Donna, waxing poetry about how amazing your wife is."

"It was a Cirque du Soleil show and my _amazing wife_ and I loved it."

"Well, congrats, Batman!"

"Thanks, Robin."

"Any words of wisdom based on your two-week experience as a married man?"

"Yeah, don't have the emotional intelligence of a snail and you'll be good!"

"A _snail_?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Being married looks good on you."

She played a little with the skirt of her dress and said: "Oh, Rachel, that would be thanks to my friend Christian Dior here!"

"Donna, this has nothing to do with the dress that you're wearing and you know it. It has nothing to do with your shoes, hair or make-up either. They're all perfect but they're not the reason why you look so good tonight. There clearly is a "married glow", unless it's all the yoga you've been engaging in recently?"

"There _has been_ a lot of yoga involved… But I've also been married for almost two weeks now so who knows?!" She shrugged innocently. _A married glow?!_

"We really need to catch up! We still haven't talked about that honeymoon of yours. I want details, Donna! I _need_ details!"

Donna giggled. "I don't kiss and tell, Rachel. But I can tell you that it was memorable and I've been wondering why we didn't take our honeymoon sooner because it was everything and more!"

"You would have had to get married sooner for that… Since you don't kiss and tell, can we talk about your gorgeous black dress or about the equally gorgeous dress that you wore for your wedding? No white for you, huh?"

"Nope. I wasn't feeling it, you know… But _you_ will be a stunning bride in white."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wow! That's what they call a room with a view."

Harvey barely glanced at the panoramic view of New York City, preferring to focus on his wife. "Yeah. Thanks for booking us a room next to the reception and allowing us to leave swiftly."

"It was more to avoid spending 30 minutes in a car to get back home and to make it special."

"Can you believe that Robert Zane wanted to talk about work tonight? About our firms potentially merging… I had to tell him to call Maya and book an appointment so that we could discuss the possibility in a calmer and more appropriate setting."

"Can you believe Harvey Specter wants to talk about Robert Zane tonight?"

"Are you mocking me?!"

"No but I'm telling you that your dirty talk needs improvement!"

"More dirty talk, less shop talk. Got it!" He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, Donna still facing the large windows of their hotel room. She relaxed instantly and leaned back against his chest. "This dress… It was pure torture all night…"

"Yeah? And what are going to do about that?"

"I intend to make you pay", he whispered. His left hand explored her body higher until it made contact with her breast. He continued to caress her and was quickly rewarded by a quiet sigh from Donna. He kneeled a little to reach the hem of her dress and let his other hand travel under the piece of clothing. The soft touch set her skin on fire immediately. He heard her breath hitch in anticipation when his fingers ghosted her center above her underwear. "You in this dress, it's sinful", he began, lust perceptible in his voice. "But it would be a shame to take if off so soon. I want to enjoy it a little longer." He could see her reflection in the window and the sight made him swallow with difficulty. Donna in all her beauty, eyes closed, lips slightly parted and body at his mercy. The hand hidden under black fabric found its way inside her thong and his middle finger circled her clit slowly, moving to her core afterward. Her breathing got louder, her chest raising and falling as his finger was toying with her. It entered her and she moaned in pleasure. Harvey started to pump then added another finger while using his thumb to put pressure on her clit at the same time.

Donna's head fell back on his shoulder. "Oh fuck!"

Harvey chuckled. "Soon", he retorted smugly, trailing open-mouthed kisses on her neck.

The rapid rhythm of his strokes prevented her from responding (and even from thinking of a retort, any retort) and her orgasm almost caught her by surprise after a low "let go for me, Donna" in her ear. Harvey usually liked to tease her but he seemed to be on a mission that night. A mission to give her the quickest orgasm possible. _Mission accomplished!_ Once her body and brain were functional again, she hummed contentedly, grateful for her husband's arm around her, holding her when her legs wouldn't.

"So, about this dress… I've been wanting to remove it all night…"

"What are you waiting for?" she asked seductively.

He deftly found the zipper in the back and Donna, still wearing her pair of black high heels, gracefully stepped out of the dress. A matching set of black lingerie welcomed him as his gaze remained focused on her, trying to take it all in. Her. The moment. At that point Harvey didn't think he could be anymore turned on. His heart was beating erratically and he pondered that it would be one way to go. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He locked eyes with Donna and asked: "Ready to continue celebrating?"

"That was a good start…"

"I'll do my best to make sure it only goes up from here."

"Nice pun, Harvey!"

"I'm good, I know."

"Not that good: you're yet to undress!"

"That can be arranged… How do you want me?"

"Naked. On the bed." Seconds later, both finally stripped, Donna straddled his waist, her back to the windows. They had left the curtains opened and Harvey briefly glanced behind her, the lights adding to the breathtaking portrait in front of him. "I get to enjoy my husband, you get to enjoy the view", she declared before leaning down and kissing him sensually on the lips.

 _The view is spectacular, Donna. This is going to be the best second wedding night!_


	15. Olympic celebrations

_Author's notes: The reason why the story is only now in 2018 will finally be revealed in this chapter! I hope you'll like it and leave a review :)_

 _Monday January 22, 2018_

"Happy birthday", Donna whispered as she caressed his face, halting at the two moles above his left eye that had always attracted her and that were so distinctly Harvey. He started to stir next to her and smiled when he opened his eyes and saw his wife. "Happy birthday", she repeated, punctuating her words with a soft kiss on his lips.

"Since it's my birthday, can we spend the whole day in bed? To celebrate in my birthday suit?"

"Actually, I have a meeting with our new associates at 8:15 and need to briefly talk to Rachel first so we don't have much time."

"I guess I should be flattered that you included me in your agenda then…"

"Sorry, babe. Taking time off work had consequences, one of them is an extra busy schedule now."

"Wow! And I was once criticized because my dirty talk needed improvement…"

"Do you want to argue who's the worst or do you want to move to better things?"

He considered teasing her again ("I thought you were good at multitasking") but imagined her immediate response ("Oh, I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about you!") and figured he would lose the argument regardless of what he would say. _Stop talking._ He had always admired how efficient she was first thing in the morning at the office. He was now glad to know that her abilities extended to their life outside of the office. _Happy birthday to me indeed!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey was staring at his phone when Donna arrived and stopped in front of him. He looked at her then his gaze fell on the device again. He had a blank expression on his face when he declared: "You're late."

"One, hello to you too", Donna replied in a sassy tone.

"Sorry", he said, finally getting out of his trance. "Hi", he smiled before capturing her lips in a short kiss.

Not distracted by her husband's mouth, she continued her retort: "Two", she double-checked the time on her phone, "I am _not_ late. In fact, I'm exactly two minutes early. Besides, I wouldn't be late for my lunch date with the birthday boy." She removed her coat and sat down on the opposite side of the table, proud of not actually being late after running all morning. _Yeah, maybe we spent too much time in bed this morning celebrating the day you were born… But it was so good!_

Ignoring her repartee, Harvey turned his phone and held it in front of her. "No", he insisted, "you're _late_."

Donna could only stare at the screen. It showed her "woman's app" and according to the app, she was indeed _late_. Harvey had opened Donna's app on his phone while waiting for her, prompted by a notification from the app itself. Since coming back to New York City, work had been hectic almost every day and he hadn't even had time to think that their wedding night might have resulted in her getting pregnant. Clearly neither had she.

 _Oh. OH!_ "I… I guess that's what I forgot to install on my new phone!"

Harvey knew that humour was Donna's favorite defense mechanism in situations where she was caught off guard and decided to steer the conversation back on track. "You're never late."

"I know", she whispered, uncharacteristically quiet with the news that she might be pregnant. _Holy shit. HOLY. SHIT._

"Do you want to have our food prepared for take-out instead and go to the pharmacy?" ( _To buy a pregnancy test_.) "Or do you prefer to wait and continue with our initial plan of having lunch here?"

Donna swallowed and locked eyes with him. She nodded and clarified immediately what she was agreeing to: "Yes, let's order for take-out."

Harvey stood up with his phone in hand. "I'm going to find us the nearest pharmacy."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Tuesday January 23, 2018_

"Hi, Red!"

"Stu! What are you doing here?"

"I had a meeting with Louis and I couldn't leave without asking you if you're finally willing to ditch the firm and accept my job offer!"

Donna smiled at Stu. It was almost a running joke between them by now, his hopeful question and her polite rejection. "Sorry, Stu, I kind of like my office", she replied with a wave of the hand to indicate the space around them.

"It's a nice office but I'm nicer than Louis and Harvey combined", he retorted confidently.

Donna chuckled. "You're probably right."

He was about to insist just to tease her (he knew that his attempts at poaching her were futile) when his eyes caught the golden band on her left hand. "Wait a second, Donna. When did _that_ happen?!"

She immediately understood what he meant and involuntarily blushed. She knew that she shouldn't be blushing but it still felt new and if people had noticed the addition on her hand, nobody had been bold enough to ask yet. "December 31st."

 _Lucky man._ "Wow! Go big or go home, huh?!"

She chuckled again. "Yep, you know me!"

"Congratulations!" _I wonder what Harvey thinks about_ that _._

"Thanks, Stu."

"I have another meeting soon so I have to go but is there anything else going on that I need to know? I would hate to miss another important piece of information!"

"Let me think..." _Well, I'm probably pregnant but you won't be the first person I confide in so_ : "No, nothing to report besides this", she responded, indicating her wedding band with her right index finger.

"Okay. Take care, Donna."

"You too."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Wednesday January 24, 2018_

"You've barely said a few words since the appointment."

Donna stared at Harvey, startled by his comment. "I'm trying to process", she offered eventually.

"It's a lot to process", he concurred, feeling at a loss with an almost speechless Donna. He swallowed and took her in his arms. Her body was tensed at first but relaxed in his embrace the longer they stayed in the same position. _Talk to me, Donna. Please._

"I was nervous before. I'm terrified now. Happy too. Incredibly happy but scared that…"

Her words were not the most articulate but at least she was starting to talk and Harvey was grateful for that. "Everything is fine now. You should focus on that." She nodded on his shoulder and he took it as a win. He was scared too but sensed that he needed to be strong for her. He wondered if that was how she had felt so many times before: looking strong for those around her because they needed her strength, even if she felt less than strong herself.

"It's one thing to confirm that I'm pregnant. It's another one entirely to learn that we're expecting twins. Twins, Harvey!"

"I know. It's a little overwhelming", he conceded softly. _It's completely overwhelming!_

"Being pregnant for the first time is stressful enough but this, yeah, overwhelming… And the obstetrician kept talking about the risks of a twin pregnancy at "my age", which didn't help me relax at all!"

"Do I need to remind you that she also said that risks increased after 30 anyways so…"

"Yeah, I was screwed because I'm definitely not 29!"

"You're just a little over 30", he joked.

"Yeah right", she scoffed before her face became serious again: "So many things could go wrong, babe…"

He inhaled sharply, exhaled more slowly. "I don't know what the future holds, Donna, but I know that today you're all healthy. All three of you are healthy. And I know that you did everything in your power so far to make sure you were healthy. You started your prenatal vitamins, you removed sushi and alcohol from your diet, you cut your caffeine intake to one cup a day. I also know you're in amazing health. You take care of your body. You do a lot of yoga…" Donna giggled. "What?"

"Yoga is sometimes a code word for something else…"

"For what?!"

"Sex?"

"Interesting… Just to confirm, when you said you went to yoga, you actually went?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Can I continue now? I was kind of having a moment here!"

"Sorry."

"The bottom line is you're pregnant and everything's fine. So you can only continue taking care of yourself and the little ones like you've been doing so far and be confident that everything's going to be fine until you deliver around Labor Day. Okay?"

"Since when are you the voice of reason?!"

Harvey contemplated his answer for a moment. "Since you need it… It's easy really. I asked myself: "What would Donna do?" And you would focus on what you know and what you can control and try to remain positive. Stress is not good for either of you so it's my job to make sure you relax and focus on the positive."

"I don't know if you being all calm and mature is throwing me off even more or is a relief? I almost expected you to lighten the mood by either making fun of the situation (or of me) or bragging about your sperm's super powers…"

 _I'm only calm on the outside, Donna._ "I can joke about it if you want", he replied softly, his right hand caressing her hair while the other was on her lower back, holding her safely against him. "After all, I did get you pregnant on the first trial! That requires special talent!"

"I can't believe you managed to knock me up, Specter!"

"We've always made a good team professionally. I knew we would work well in that area as well!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Monday February 12, 2018_

 _What are you doing, Harvey? We're waiting for you!_ Donna had sent him several text messages (all unanswered so far), had tried to call him several times (five times to be exact) and her calls had gone to voicemail every time. Annoyance had been replaced by concern as his silence persisted. It wasn't his style to forget a meeting (correction: he would forget a meeting with Louis but he wouldn't forget a meeting with her). So yeah, she was getting worried and she didn't like it. _Come on, Harvey!_ As if on cue, her phone rang and his contact photo appeared on the screen. _Finally!_ "Where are you?"

"Huh, don't panic but I'm at the hospital."

"WHAT?" Donna's loud and alarmed voice caught the attention of everyone outside of her office. David glanced in her direction, knowing that Harvey had been "missing" for an hour and ready to jump in action if Donna needed him.

"I'm okay. Really."

"You're in the hospital, Harvey!"

"I know but it's nothing bad. I only need a couple of stiches."

"I'm coming over."

Less than thirty minutes later, Donna joined Harvey in the small room where he was still waiting for his stiches and relaxed when she saw that it indeed looked like nothing bad. "What happened to I love boxing because you have to be fully focused while you box?!"

"Clearly, when I said that, I had never been about to spend my first Valentine's Day with you as my wife…"

"Wow, no need to be so dramatic about our first Valentine's Day!"

He chuckled. "Sorry, I got distracted", he replied sheepishly.

Her gaze softened at his contrite expression. "Well, if it had to be about me, it would have been even more dramatic if you had gotten injured while defending my honor."

"I'll think about that for next year", he replied sarcastically.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Tuesday February 20, 2018_

"Since when are we rooting for Canada?!"

It was late at night and they were watching tv, a rare occurrence for them usually but a more common one when it was the Olympics apparently (and when there was figure skating on).

"Since these two are from Canada", Donna replied promptly. "They already won gold in the Team Event and they won the short dance last night with a world record. They could become the most decorated figure skaters in history if they won gold again tonight. They won gold eight years ago in Vancouver, got silver four years later in Sochi (they also got silver in the Team Event) so yeah, we're cheering for ice dancers from Canada. You have a problem with that?!"

If his initial "no, not at all" was meant to please her (he couldn't care less for Olympic winter sports but he cared about Donna), he changed his mind as soon as she had showed him their first program, a Latin inspired performance that was sexy enough to turn baseball fans into figure skating fans instantly. _Okay, I can get behind this ice dancing thing if it's going to be like that…_

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (he knew them by name at that point) were set to skate last so they had to watch other couples first. The sister-brother duo left him a little perplexed ("Isn't it a bit weird?") but the French team (Virtue and Moir's biggest rivals, according to Donna) was the one who made him scratch his head. They were supposed to be good, the people on tv were saying they were good but: "No, I wasn't feeling it."

Harvey's declaration forced her to detach her gaze from the screen (they were waiting for their score) and to look at her husband, smiling knowingly. "Wait till you see the Canadians." Donna knew. Like always. His reaction when they performed their suggestive lift was priceless: "Oh wow! That was… Wow!" His reaction when Tessa Virtue climbed on her partner's legs for another emotional moment was one of incredulity: "How? HOW?" But she loved his reaction at the end of their program best: "I mean, Moulin Rouge!, the movie, was good but this was amazing!"

"Why do you think I'm cheering for them?!"

"Because it looks like they're ready to have sex on the ice?!"

"I assume you were you feeling it…"

"Feeling it? That was totally inspiring!"

Donna giggled. "Do you want to start skating lessons?"

"Skates are optional for what I have in mind, Donna. Besides, I don't think I need lessons for this. I only need a partner."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Good job, partner!"

"Yeah, no there won't be any high five after that!"

"Come on, Donna! I think I deserve a gold medal for my performance, don't you?"

"You will need to do more to impress the judges…"

"Okay, wow, I see we're still riding our Olympic wave… Do you think they're as platonic partners as we are?"

"I don't know and I would like to go back to you being inspired if you don't mind."

"Gladly. I want to finally win my gold medal!"

"Maybe you'll get a stuffed animal instead. We'll see…"

"You are mean, you know that?"

"It's called foreplay, Harvey", she whispered in his ear seductively.


	16. Haute Couture

_Author's notes: Hi, Suits family! How are you guys doing? Who watched the Season finale last night? I'm 2 episodes behind but, thanks to Twitter, I know. I repeat: I KNOW! OMG, I did_ not _see that coming!_

 _Going back to my post 7A finale story (which I started over a year ago so yeah, lots of things have happened since then that I chose to ignore), Donna and Harvey attend a gala. (Remember the dress she bought in Vegas?) What could go wrong? Special guests: Samantha Wheeler and (my own version of) Thomas Kessler. Hope you enjoy this chapter and be kind enough to leave a review :)_

 _Saturday March 17, 2018_

"Donna Paulsen."

"Samantha Wheeler", the redhead replied with the same straightforward tone.

"I owe you an apology."

 _Oh yeah?_ "Why? What did you do?"

"I may have told one of Robert's clients, Thomas Kessler, who you were…"

 _Great!_ "And let me guess: it's not because he was looking for a new lawyer."

"No", she replied guiltily. "In my defense, I was just trying to end the conversation sooner than later AND I was not aware of the new bling on your ring finger when I said that I had no idea if you were single or not."

"Hum", Donna replied vaguely. _Not cool in any case, Samantha…_

"Congrats by the way."

"Thank you."

"Is your husband here tonight? Or is it just you?" The blonde woman looked at Donna subtly. She had heard the rumors about Harvey and Donna (everyone had heard the rumors) but she wasn't one for believing gossip. However, she was one for reading situations (and asking questions occasionally).

"He's here somewhere." _Are you fishing for information, Samantha?_

 _Speaking of the devil…_ "I can see Kessler talking with Harvey now. Oh! Do you think he just asked about you?"

Donna hadn't missed the quick glance that Harvey had sent in her direction but, more revealingly, the tension in his jaw. "Without a doubt."

"I hope Kessler won't cause too much trouble." _Especially if Specter is the husband!_

"It's a gala, Samantha, not a boxing ring. I'm sure everyone will remain civil in public." _At least, I hope so. Please, Harvey, don't make me regret it. I don't know this Kessler guy but I know you…_

 _Damn! She's good at evading my questions._ "So, besides a high-profile wedding, anything new at Specter Litt?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So you're Harvey Specter."

"I am." _And you are?_

"Thomas Kessler", the tall man replied, shaking his hand firmly. "Nice to meet you."

 _What do you want?_ He had just met the guy but something was rubbing him the wrong way already. "You too", he replied evenly.

"I'm new in town. My business had recently expanded her so I left Florida to relocate in the Big Apple."

 _You shouldn't have._ "Hum."

"I thought lawyers were supposed to be talkative", Kessler joked, surprised by Harvey's standoffish attitude.

"Are you looking for representation?"

"No, I'm with Rand, Kandor and Zane."

"See, there's no reason why I should be talkative."

"Fair point. I won't waste your time then. I have a question about your COO though. Donna Paulsen?"

 _I know who my COO is. WHAT DO YOU WANT?_ "What's your question?"

"Is she single?"

 _Careful, Kessler._ "Married", he replied through gritted teeth.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Nobody's perfect. And it's not like I'm looking for commitment here." He noticed Harvey staring at him. "What? Am I too direct? You look like someone who would do the same."

 _You're on_ very _thin ice, Kessler._ "I look like someone who's going to lose his cool if you continue", he snapped. "And for your information, I'm her husband."

Kessler chuckled, clearly amused by the situation and not bothered by the death stare directed towards him. "I suppose you're not in an open marriage…"

"I'm going to leave now before I do something that we'll both regret." Harvey heard him chuckle again as his steps led him away from the man whose comments were so despicable that he wanted to physically hurt him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harvey quickly joined Donna and acknowledged the woman next to her. "Samantha."

"Harvey." She noticed the hand that he gently put behind Donna's back.

Donna eyed him with concern. "Everything alright?"

"Everything's great", he replied sarcastically.

"He's an ass, isn't he?" _Specter has a ring too. That can't be a coincidence._

"He's more than that, Samantha, but yeah that's the short version."

"Did he ask you if I was single?"

"And how would you know _that_?"  
"He asked me the same thing before and since I didn't know you two were married at the time… Sorry! And congratulations by the way!"

"Thanks", he replied, giving a small smile to Donna. _Did you tell her?_

 _I didn't._ Returning his smile, Donna interrogated him: "How close were we to an incident that would have had you disbarred?"

"Very. When I told him that you were married, he just shrugged, basically stating that it wasn't a problem for him and when I told him that you were married _to me_ , he had the audacity to joke about it."

"Charming", Donna retorted drily.

"I'm surprised you didn't punch him in the face", Samantha declared. "I would have."

"I'm _impressed_ you didn't punch him in the face", Donna added. And she was impressed. A year ago, Harvey would probably have punched him in the face, regardless of their relationship status. _He has grown so much!_

"I thought about it, believe me."

"I believe you and I'm proud of you", she said once Samantha had excused herself to go mingle with some of her firm's clients.

"How proud?" he whispered in her ear discreetly.

"I'll show you when we get home", she replied, looking straight ahead as if they were talking about anything but sex.

Deciding to disregard her suggestive comment for the moment, Harvey redirected the conversation: "I'm not sure if I already told you that but you look stunning tonight. I must confess that I might be a little in love with Chanel right now…"

"Thank you." She let her gaze fall on him, allowing herself to admire his body in his new black suit. "I guess it's okay for me to tell you that I might be a little in love with Yves Saint Laurent then… I know you prefer Tom Ford for your suits but you have to admit: Yves Saint Laurent does know how to make great suits too."

Harvey didn't miss how she licked her lips and continued their haute couture discussion: "I love all of your dresses but this one might be my new favorite."

"You're only saying that because it makes my boobs look bigger."

Harvey chuckled, shaking his head. "They _are_ bigger."

"They're not the only parts of my body that are bigger", she countered. "It's a good thing this dress wasn't too tight to start with, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to wear it tonight."

"It would have been a shame. Are you saying we're going to have to go shopping soon?" he inquired softly.

"We're going to have to go shopping soon", she confirmed. _We're going to have to go shopping because our babies are growing!_


	17. You didn't waste any time, did you?

_Author's notes: Hi, Suits family! Have you recovered from that amazing season finale?! I love that it was a huge boost in terms of new stories on FF! Don't mind me, I'll stay in my own universe, trying to finish this story in a (somewhat) timely fashion… I borrowed some words by one of our favorite Darvey shippers: you'll find them easily… Enjoy!_

 _Friday April 13, 2018_

"Why are you hiding in this kitchen, Donna? The executive kitchen is considerably closer to your office."

"Maybe I wanted a longer break, Mike, or maybe I wanted to spend time with Gretchen here", she offered while pointing at the executive assistant with her mug. (Gretchen didn't budge, too happy not to get involved.) "You found me anyway…" _What's up, Pup?_

"Rachel would have asked you directly but she's still out of the office with her client. We are going with Alex and Katrina to celebrate our most recent successes and we're hoping you and Harvey will join us. For your information, Katrina is currently asking Louis."

"Yes, I heard that it's been a good morning for Specter Litt. Harvey and I would have loved to go out with you guys tonight and revel in our collective badassery. Unfortunately, we already have dinner plans with Harvey's mother. Rain check?"

"Yeah, no worries. I'm sure we'll have other big wins to celebrate next week or the one after!"

And with that, Mike took his leave and Donna found herself alone with Gretchen once again.

"Yeah, there won't be any celebratory drinks for you next week either, unless it's the non-alcoholic kind."

Donna opened her mouth to refute Gretchen's claim but found nothing to say against what the older woman was suggesting. She smiled sheepishly instead.

"Congratulations, Red!"

"Thanks, Gretchen. We haven't told anyone yet but we're going to have to before they", she put her hand on her lower abdomen, "make it impossible to hide…"

It wasn't long before Gretchen was teasing her colleague: "You didn't waste any time, did you?!"

Donna smiled at the jab. "We never thought it would happen so fast", she defended herself, shrugging simultaneously. "And please stop ogling my boobs!"

The executive assistant chuckled. "I'm sorry", she apologized, "I initially thought you had bought new bras. You know, with _extra_ padding. I guess it's not the bras! There's also the fact that you're drinking herbal tea, which is totally out of character for you."

"You got me!"

"How far along are you?"

"About 16 weeks."

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted! I know it's partly the result of less caffeine in my system but I was about to fall asleep at my desk and I'm in bed at 10:00 pm almost every night. I've never slept so much since I joined the firm and yet, I've never felt so tired."

"Yeah, it's a common side effect."

"And apparently it's worse when you expect more than one child at a time…"

"When you expect more than… _what_?!"

"Yep", the redhead nodded, "twins…"

Gretchen's eyes widened in reaction. "Wow! That's… Wow!"

""Wow" is one word for it. Harvey opted for "overwhelming". I still haven't found the right word but if I had to try, I would say it's a mix between amazing and terrifying."

"I can only imagine…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday April 21, 2018_

"Should we go and help them?"

Donna eyed her husband from the living room where she was with Rachel. Mike was talking with Harvey in the kitchen. "No, it's Harvey's night", she argued and because she noticed her friend was about to inquire further, she gave her an additional explanation: "We take turns."

"How domestic!"

"Don't mock us! I'm sure you and Mike are more domestic than us. After all, you've been living together for a long time now, longer than us."

"Fair point. Before I forget, Donna, the bridal store changed the date for our fitting next week. It's going to be on Thursday now instead."

 _Thanks for the great transition to_ the _topic of conversation that I wanted to tackle, my friend!_ "About that… There's a little problem…"

"With the date of the fitting?" Rachel asked, perplexed.

"Not exactly. More with the date of the wedding. It's currently a _tiny_ problem but it's going to be a _bigger_ problem by the time of your wedding in a month from now…"

 _A bigger problem? A_ bigger _problem?_ "Are you saying what I think you're saying?!"

"Yes", Donna replied, her voice shaken by emotions. Revealing her pregnancy was still an emotional affair, more so than what she would have initially thought. The couple had already broken the news to Harvey's mother. Donna had also called her mother and her sister to inform them. They were all thrilled beyond measure and, just like Gretchen the week before, a little bit shocked to learn that the couple was expecting twins. Donna and Harvey had wanted to share the news with Mike and Rachel next and had chosen to invite them over for supper, preferring a quiet environment to a busy restaurant.

Rachel's reaction, a loud squeal followed by a tight hug with her best friend, caught Mike's attention. "What's going on over there?"

"Donna probably just told Rachel that she's pregnant", Harvey replied nonchalantly, staring at the pan in front of him and stirring slowly.

 _WHAT?!_ "Are you serious, man?"

"I wouldn't joke about that!"

Mike patted Harvey on the back. "Wow! Congratulations, Batman!"

Harvey smiled at the nickname that his friend didn't seem to be able to stop using with him. He put the lid back on the pan, turned the heat down and went with Mike to join Donna and Rachel in the living room where more hugs and congratulations were exchanged.

"Wow", Mike started again, "I knew there was a reason why, out of the blue you, Donna, were wearing pant suits!" Three pairs of eyes focused on him in confusion. "If memory serves me right, and we all know it does, you never wore pants more than once a trimester before. And all of a sudden you don't wear dresses that often. It was suspicious…" He shrugged, almost ready to apologize for having noticed that detail in the first place.

 _Interesting choice of word, Mike…_ "Well, we didn't want anyone to speculate before we were ready to talk about it… And we wanted to wait until I was further along before we told anyone." _In case something went wrong…_ (Nothing had been wrong so far and they had been extremely relieved when they had passed the 12-week mark).

"Don't worry about it, Donna. Mike and I totally understand why you wouldn't tell us immediately. I too was wondering about your wardrobe change. I wasn't sure what to attribute it to but I noticed."

Donna returned Rachel's smile. "I'm in my second trimester but they are growing fast so I had to change the way I dressed to hide as much as possible my "expanding" body."

Mike gazed at the couple next to him and grinned. "I'm going to have a baby brother or a baby sister", he declared with excitement.

Harvey rolled his eyes at his friend's words. Donna chuckled. "Weird family connection notwithstanding, you might have both, Mike", she retorted calmly, waiting for the young couple to realize what she was implying.

"No!" _Holy shit!_

"Yes, Mike!"

"Oh. My. God." _This is the best news ever!_

"Exactly our thoughts, Rach'."

Mike and Rachel asked many questions to the expectant couple during the rest of the evening: they inquired about morning sickness ("Not really. More like a subtle, but ongoing, nausea. Fortunately, it's over. Now I'm hungry all the time!"), food cravings ("Not at all. Harvey's scared that it's going to happen eventually though.") and baby names ("We have some ideas but Donna and I decided to keep them to ourselves until they are born, in case we need to change when we see them."). And before they left, Mike and Rachel reiterated their congratulations as they were both very happy for their friends. _That's how it's done, guys._


	18. Harvey's favorite people

_Author's notes: Hi, friends! Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and adding this story to your list of favorite ones :)_

 _Another relatively short chapter but I hope you appreciate the update! We continue with Harvey and Donna telling their friends (well, one friend in particular) about the pregnancy. I took some liberty with our favorite redhead's birthday date (please correct me if you know more than me!). In this chapter, Harvey surprises Donna for her birthday, then Donna has a surprise for her husband…_

 _Monday April 23, 2018_

Donna noticed Harvey approaching her office from the corner of her eye. Her gaze softened as he looked in her direction with a small smile on his lips. _Hey, handsome!_ "Harvey", she started, intending to continue her sentence but interrupted by her husband.

"How are my favorite people in the world doing?"

His tone was loving and Donna's eyes widened as she heard him. "Harvey", she repeated, her expression a mix of surprise and amusement. _I wanted to warn you. You didn't give me the chance…_

"Donna", he replied, confused by her odd reaction to his question and his gaze still solely focused on the redhead. _What? Can't I be kind (and charming) to my pregnant wife?_ He heard his name again but it wasn't from Donna's mouth and realization hit him like a ton of brick. It was confirmed when he turned his head and spotted who was on the other side of Donna's office. _Ha!_ "Louis… I didn't know you were here!"  
 _You didn't know I was here? But…_ "Why would you say that then?"

Shock was still written on Harvey's face and Donna saved him. They had to come clean and even if it wasn't how they had planned on letting their friend know, they were there and only the truth would explain Harvey's strange greeting. "Well, Louis, Harvey and I are expecting." _Surprise!_

 _Expecting…_ "What are you expecting?" Harvey tilted his head to the side. _Do we have to spell it for you, Louis?_ "Oh! You're expecting… expecting a child?"

Donna frowned at him. _What could we be expecting?!_ "As a matter of fact, we're expecting two but yes, Louis, we are expecting."

"Twins?" The couple nodded. "Wow! I didn't know you were even trying…"

"We'd just started", Harvey responded quietly.

Louis observed his friends and almost felt like an intruder when the couple locked eyes and shared a moment. "Wow", he said again. "That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thank you", Donna replied for the two of them, Harvey smiling and looking at his wife adoringly.

When Louis left the office, he couldn't help but think that Harvey had changed so much since he had first met him. Gone was the arrogant lawyer who exclusively thought about work. In his place, was a man very much in love with his wife, happy to be expecting their first children together. _I can't believe it!_ I _need a day and I'm not even the one who's going to be the parent of twins!_

Harvey walked behind Donna's desk and leaned back against the window sill. He groaned. "We're a disaster. First, Rachel in Chicago. Now, Louis…"

Donna giggled. "Oh no, _we_ are not a disaster. _You_ are, babe." Harvey pouted. "But it's okay. Chicago with Rachel was funny in retrospect. Today was… sweet. _You_ were very sweet and I loved it." Harvey gave her a small smile and she continued: "And to answer your question, we're doing great! We're a little hungry though."

"Let's feed you then!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Wednesday May 2_ _nd_ _, 2018_

"Harvey, you know I don't like surprises so are you finally going to tell me where we're going? I mean, we're at the airport so I assume we're about to take off but I still don't know where to!"

Harvey grinned when he heard Donna huff in annoyance. "For your information, I spoke with your obstetrician and she said it's totally safe to fly."

"Harvey, come on!" she whined. "Tell. Me."

"You're impossible. You know that?" He looked at Donna who sported her best "I'm not going to apologize for who I am" look, which made him chuckle. "Fine. We're going to Montreal."

"Why?" was her immediate response. She was silent for a moment then, contemplating their destination. "It still doesn't make any sense. I mean, it's the middle of the week and my actual birthday is next Thursday so it begs the question: why Montreal today?"

"Well, my gift only worked today so… Since you won't stop bugging me until I spill the beans, we're going to Stars on Ice tonight."

"Stars on Ice? The figure skating show?"

"Yes."

"Really?!" _You're full of surprises, Specter._

"Really." _You're no fun, Paulsen._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"First time in Montreal?" The couple nodded at the employee's question. "Montreal is lovely in May. Here you are: two key cards for one of our superior suites. I see that you have planned to have our six course dinner served in your suite tonight."

"Yes, I have."

Donna stared at Harvey, dumbstruck. _Completely full of surprises…_

"Anything particular planned during your stay?"

Donna was the one who answered the woman at the counter first: "This man here, my husband", she gently patted Harvey's chest with her hand, "surprised me with tickets for Stars on Ice tonight." She was still in shock. _Stars on Ice. In Montreal._ "As an early birthday present", she explained.

"Wow! Lucky you! My husband would _never_ attend a figure skating show, even if it fell on my birthday. I'm also going to the show tonight but I'm going with one of my girlfriends." She shrugged and turned to Harvey. "You're definitely earning points for Husband of the Year! Quick question though? Don't they have Stars on Ice in the US too?"

"Yes, but they don't have Virtue and Moir", Harvey replied with conviction.

Harvey's response left the employee speechless for a moment. "He knows who the best skaters are", Donna offered, grinning at the same time.

"And he's absolutely right." _Husband of the year indeed._

Later that evening, Donna was cuddling with Harvey on the couch of their beautiful suite in Old Montreal. The quiet atmosphere enticed her to speak softly. "I still can't believe you organized all that, Harvey. The trip, on-ice tickets, dinner in our suite… That's so romantic. Thank you, Harvey!"

 _Husband of the year?_ "It's not often that I can surprise you and you're very welcome, Donna. Happy birthday!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Tuesday May 8, 2018_

At 11:42 am, Harvey received an envelope from his assistant. He found in it a key card for a hotel not far from the firm and a post-it with a short message from Donna: "Meet me there after you have picked our lunch at the place around the corner (the usual for me please). Thanks!" _A new mission for James Bond!_

Intrigued by the unusual request, he made his way to their favorite lunch place and ordered food for the two of them. It was 12:20 pm when he finally reached the room. He unlocked the door with the card and let himself in silently. He half expected to find her asleep on the bed but found her standing by the window, looking at the always busy streets. Her current attire caught his attention: the hotel's white bathrobe. _Nice!_ He smirked at the sight and couldn't resist teasing her: "You finally caved in and got a room to avoid taking a nap on the couch in my office or hide in one corner of the library?!"

She turned around at his words, not that she hadn't known that he was already there. "I'm not here for a nap", she responded resolutely. Then, walking slowly towards him, she added in a suggestive tone: "I'm here to have food and you. In no particular order."

Harvey took a second to recover from her blunt admission. _God!_ "You're the best", he declared eventually, closing the distance between them and kissing her passionately.

 _Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Specter._


	19. Donna's favorite trimester

_Author's notes: Not sure about the rating for this chapter. Might be more on the mature side of things… The title for this chapter parallels the one for Chapter 18 ("Harvey's favorite people") and highlights Donna in the best months of her pregnancy… On the program: a couple of sexy Darvey moments (#harveysview) & Mike and Rachel's wedding (#finally)! Special guests: Robert/Laura Zane and Stu Bazzini… I think it's going to be fun and if you think so too, do not hesitate to leave a review :)_

 _FYI, Chapter 20_ might _be the last one…_

 _Saturday May 12, 2018_

She had returned home after a yoga class and a quick lunch with Rachel to find Harvey settled on the couch in the living room, his computer on his lap and a few files scattered around him. It was warm outside and he had opened the doors to the balcony, enjoying the fresh air. Judging by his clothes (his bright blue and orange Knicks shorts and his James Bond tee-shirt that frequently replaced his old Harvard one since Christmas), Donna knew that he had gone for a run and taken a shower afterwards. She admired her husband on her way to the bedroom, briefly stopping to kiss him on the lips before going to the bathroom for a shower as well. She emerged 10 minutes later wearing Harvey's dark blue bathrobe, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head.

"I thought you'd join me in the shower", she declared mischievously as she walked towards him.

Harvey stared at his wife and didn't miss her flirtatious look. _Damn, I can't believe I let this opportunity pass!_ "I wasn't sure you wanted me to", he responded sheepishly.

Donna smiled. "I did. I wanted you to. I missed you."

"Sorry", he simply said, his eyes widening as Donna swiftly straddled his thigh. He quickly put the computer on the coffee table and pushed the files away.

"I guess I should have been more explicit with what I wanted." She softly cupped his face in her hands and brushed her lips against his in a tantalizing way.

His voice was barely above a whisper when he declared: "You still want something."

Donna shifted a little so that she could open the bathrobe and show him her naked body. She saw his eyes immediately darken at the sight before him. "I sure do."

"And I think I might be ready to give it to you", he retorted, smirking at his own cheekiness as he remembered the words that they had exchanged all those years ago.

Donna didn't reply anything but her mouth found his and she kissed him passionately, slowly grinding on his thigh and instructing him to touch her with short commands.

"This okay?" he asked as he caressed her breasts gently. They had been particularly sensitive since the beginning of her pregnancy and Harvey had been carefully avoiding them for weeks at that point.

Donna nodded and sighed in pleasure at his soft ministrations. She brought his mouth to hers in another searing kiss that was cut short when Harvey's fingertips grazed her nipples. "More, please!"

It was all the encouragement that Harvey needed, all too eager to reacquaint himself with his wife's breasts that were teasing him everyday regardless of what she was wearing (or not wearing). He continued to pay attention to Donna's chest and was rewarded with more sighs and moans that increased in volume rapidly until he heard a loud (and long) "yes!" and felt her body tense above him. "Did you just… On my shorts?"

Donna laughed out loud and shrugged. "I love your shorts", she retorted, as if it was an explanation in itself.

Harvey grinned. He loved all the versions of Donna (the smart and sexy woman, the confident and efficient COO, the fun and caring friend) but that version of Donna (happy, unapologetic and her skin flushed from her most recent orgasm) was probably his favorite one. _I love you!_ He gently pushed her so that she was lying on the couch on her back. The bathrobe remained on but his sight was completely unobstructed as he spent the following minutes showing her how much he loved her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So your boobs are not off limits anymore", Harvey declared once they had caught their breath and covered themselves again.

Donna could perceive a hint of relief in his voice. "Were you getting desperate, babe?"

"It's not like all your body was off limits so no, I wasn't getting desperate." He paused and smirked before adding: "But, you know, I'm happy I can finally touch them again…"

"You were pretty happy indeed", she retorted cheekily.

Harvey captured her lips with his to put an end to their discussion momentarily. "For the record", he said a few seconds later barely inches from her face, "I'm sorry about not joining you in the shower earlier and I'm at your disposition when you need me. Just say the word, undress in front of me or simply grab my tie and drag me to the first secure location if we're at the office and I'll be happy to oblige!"

"Duly noted", she giggled. _Not at the office though_.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're the one calling the shots here. I don't want to presume you're in the mood for sex whenever I feel like it."

"And I appreciate that, Harvey."

"So… What's your feeling about tomorrow's appointment and this "babies bump"?" He put his hand on her baby bump or her "babies bump" as he liked to call it, amused by his play on words.

"I don't know", she replied uncharacteristically.

"You don't know? What's going on, Donna? No Donna's intuition? No mother's intuition?"

"Apparently not…"

"Do you have a preference?"

"Not really. It's going to sound cliché but as long as they're healthy, I'll be happy."

"Yeah. Can you imagine yourself with two boys?"

Donna gave him a small smile. "All Specter men love me, you know that."

"I do."

"Can _you_ imagine yourself with two girls?"

"I would enjoy being the only male in the family", he joked back.

"Be careful what you wish for!"

"Well, hopefully they'll cooperate and we'll know tomorrow."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday May 26, 2018_

"This Versace dress looks even better in person, Donna. You look amazing!"

"Thanks, Jessica. And pregnant. _Very_ pregnant."

"Not feeling the glow today?"

Donna huffed in annoyance. "No. Definitely not. It's like I'm the first pregnant woman they've seen."

Their conversation was interrupted by Robert Zane who was accompanied by his wife. "Oh my god, it's true: you _are_ pregnant!" Donna almost rolled her eyes at her best friend's father.

"What my husband is trying to say, Donna", Laura interjected, "is "congratulations" and I love your dress!"

"Thank you, Laura."

"Yes, sorry", Robert mumbled. "Congratulations you two. Where's the father-to-be by the way?"

"Thank you, Robert. I think he went to give Mike some advice on how to get his wife pregnant on the first trial", she quipped. Laura giggled at Donna's retort while Robert struggled to determine whether Donna was serious or not. "I'm kidding, Robert! (Well, I think I am.) However, he's most likely hiding from you so that you don't talk about the upcoming merger between our two firms!"

"Do I need to remind you, Robert, that it's our daughter's wedding, not the time to talk about work?"

"Of course not. Don't worry, Laura, I'll only speak to Harvey as the father of the bride."

The two women exchanged a knowing smile. _Yeah right! We'll see…_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Much later that night, Donna turned in bed for what felt like the hundredth time. She checked the time on her phone and sighed: 4:15 am. They had returned home quite early by her previous (non-pregnant) standards but she had been exhausted (plus, her high heels were killing her) and Harvey had convinced her that it was okay to leave then. She had fallen asleep as soon as she had brushed her teeth, removed her makeup and changed into one of Harvey's Harvard tee-shirts, the only ones large enough to accommodate her growing bump. Hours later though, she was wide awake. "Harvey", she whispered. There was no response from the man beside her. "Babe", she tried again, a little louder that time.

"What is it?" _Everything okay?_

"I need you", she simply said, her left hand sneaking under the tee-shirt that he was wearing.

"Need?" _Am I dreaming?_

To make her intentions clearer, she let her fingers travel from his abs to the front of his boxers, cupping him in the process. "Need", she confirmed as she continued to caress him over the thin fabric.

He was about to say something but Donna's hand found its way inside his underwear and he decided that his mouth could be better used kissing his wife than trying to banter with her. It wasn't long before Donna urged him to remove his boxers altogether. Sensing her impatience, Harvey took his tee-shirt off and helped her undress. Once they were both naked, Donna resumed her ministrations and he felt himself becoming hard in a very short amount of time. _I_ must _be dreaming._ They then stopped talking for a while, preferring to let their bodies communicate instead. Only sighs and moans could be heard (that and the sound of flesh against flesh) until Donna spoke again: "God, I love you!" She was completely out of breath, moving up and down over Harvey as he matched her thrust for thrust.

Harvey grinned. He knew that that position with Donna on top was one of her new favorites as it allowed her to move without worrying about her growing belly. He also knew that on his back he could angle his hips to pleasure even more. His view was just an added bonus. "That good, huh?"

Donna answered with another loud moan of pleasure followed by more urgent ones as she neared her peak and eventually reached it at the same time as Harvey. All in all, it had probably lasted less than 15 minutes and they would have otherwise been disappointed that it had been done and over so fast but neither seemed to care. They were both physically spent and utterly content.

Donna recovered first, peppering his bare chest with kisses. "God, I was so…"

"Horny?" Harvey suggested.

"You have no idea!"

"I'm starting to have a pretty good idea", he replied, chuckling. "But waking me up in the middle of the night to have sex: that's a first!"

"I almost took care of it myself but I figured you'd prefer to be included."

"I certainly enjoyed being included but I wouldn't mind watching _you_ taking care of it."

Donna considered his statement for a moment then replied: "Good to know. Tired of my crazy pregnancy hormones yet?"

"Grateful", he corrected. And because he couldn't _not_ tease his very demanding wife, he added: "Just a question: when you said "I love you", did you mean you love me in general or only because of what my body can do to yours?"

Donna giggled and hid her face in the crook of his neck, revelling in the warmth of Harvey's body. "I plead the fifth", she answered quietly.

"Hahaha! Of course you do! In any case, you can't get enough of me!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Specter. It's nothing personal. It's only because of my crazy pregnancy hormones."

"It's still because of me."

Donna kissed the smug smile off his face and let her crazy hormones lead them to another round of love making. _Okay, I'm horny._ Very _horny._

 _She's insatiable and I love it!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday June 9, 2018_

"Stu Bazzini! I didn't think you were a fan of jazz…"

"I'm not. My sister dragged me here!"

"Hi! Harvey. Nice to meet you. Stu and I used to work at the same place before he moved to his current and fancier offices."

"Melissa. Nice to meet you too."

"You should join us if it's only the two of you. Donna will be mad if you don't at least say hi!"

Stu glanced at his sister and with an approving nod on her part, he accepted the invitation while Harvey exited the building to call a client back. He quickly spotted Donna. _Maybe I'll finally get to know who her husband is…_

Donna beamed when she noticed Stu and left her high bar stool to hug him briefly. "It's good to see you, Stu!"

"You too, Red. Wow, every time I see you there's a new and exciting development in your life!" Stu turned to his sister and introduced her to Donna. "Last time I saw Donna, she had been married for less than a month. Now…" He waved his hand in front of her, indicating her visible baby bump. "Either we don't see each other often enough or…"

Melissa chuckled nervously. She didn't know Donna and her brother was a little embarrassing… "It's very nice to meet you, Donna. And congratulations." _Pretty. Too bad she's taken. (And pregnant.)_

"Likewise and thank you."

Before Donna could start the introductions, Daniel held his hand in front of him to shake Melissa's then Stu's. "I'm Daniel, Donna's old flame from college", he stated in his most authentic tone (thanks to years of acting).

"Old flame?" _Could it be_ the husband _? He has a ring…_

Donna giggled and gently swatted him on the shoulder. "Don't listen to him. We studied theatre together." _Was he kidding then, about being her old flame?_

"We reconnected recently when I came back to the Big Apple after years on the West Coast. The rest, as they say, is history." _Reconnected? As in…_

Stu waited for Donna to elaborate. "He crashed my date!" _Hum…_

"I did and I would feel bad about having crashed your date but you eventually married the man so I don't really feel bad about it." Daniel shrugged to emphasize his point. _Definitely_ not _her husband!_ To confirm his deduction, he saw Phil, Daniel's husband, arrive and kiss him on the cheek. _Oops, I totally missed that_ tiny _detail!_

Donna continued with the introductions: Alex ( _I know he's married to another woman_ _so not an option_ ), David ( _He's a little young, isn't he?_ ) and Katrina ( _Hey there!_ ). Samantha was the last one to be introduced since she was at the other end of their long table and Stu focused hard to pay attention to her as well, already planning on starting a conversation with the junior partner. Melissa, in contrast, didn't have trouble focusing on the new name partner at Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams. _Gorgeous._ Samantha smiled when Stu's sister moved to her end of the table. They didn't hear Donna's next words: "We're only missing Jonathan. He said he was going to be late." _Jonathan? He's the only one left. That must be the guy. Unless…_ As if on cue, Harvey made his way back to the group and sat down next to Donna, the redhead immediately putting her hand on his leg and inquiring about the phone call that had kept him away longer than unusual. _Oh!_ OH! Stu almost smacked his forehead with his hand. _That makes_ so _much more sense! Why didn't I think of that sooner?!_ He glanced at the couple and didn't miss the kiss that Harvey stole from Donna. _Yep, that makes total sense!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Will you stop staring at my boobs!"

"Why?"

"Because everyone can see you!" They were still at the jazz club surrounded by their friends.

"Well, they're right here", he reasoned, eyeing them once more without an ounce of remorse.

She scoffed and pushed his face away from her torso. "It's June, Harvey. I certainly won't wear a turtleneck. But enjoy them while they last, babe!"

"It's exactly what I'm doing", he replied cheekily. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you what I had initially (and secretly) nicknamed the duo you form with David…"

She raised her eyebrows in anticipation. "I fear the worst."

He gave her a small playful smile before saying: "I called you "Double D". See, it's funny because it's your two initials but it's also…"

"I get it, Harvey", she cut him immediately. "And you're an idiot", she retorted while repressing the smile that wanted to form on her lips.

"I beg to differ", he quipped instantly. "I'm your husband and the father of your children. Based on that alone, it is clear that I'm a genius!"

"Whatever, genius!"


	20. Emotional intelligence and happiness

_Author's notes: This is the second to last chapter! There will be an epilogue soon (soon-ish). A big thank you to all of you who've read the story so far, favorited and/or left a review! I appreciate it immensely._

 _Special guest: Paula Agard aka The Evil Psychiatrist! But first, we continue soon after Chapter 19 ended… I can't wait to see Suits back on our screens but until then, enjoy the almost conclusion of this story and leave a review if you have a minute :)_

 _Sunday June 17, 2018_

It was Father's Day and Donna had a surprise for Harvey. She believed that he would welcome it but she was still a little nervous about it. "Do you remember when I told you how I didn't want to change my last name, mostly because of work?" She saw her husband nod at her words and continued: "And I'm not going to change it at work. _But_ , outside of work, I'd like to use your last name as my last name if you're okay with that." She slowly caressed her bump. "You know, one name for our family. So, what do you think?"

Harvey stared at her with his mouth agape. "I think it's a great idea", he began when he found his voice again. "I mean, I support you in keeping your name at the firm 100%. You deserve all the praise in the world for the work that you do everyday and that doesn't need to be associated with being my wife. You're you and you're amazing. And you were amazing way before we were married or in a relationship!" He gave her a small smile. "That being said, I must confess that there's also a part of me that likes the idea of you taking my last name. Now, I realize that it's a very patriarchal view of society that I implicitly subscribe to when I say that. But until we have a better system, one based on equality, one name for our whole family would make me very happy."

"Wow, I don't know what to say… When did you get so articulate on these issues?" _The emotional intelligence of a snail? Not anymore!_ "Well, I'm glad we're in agreement. I'll do the paperwork and legally change my name to Specter." Then after a short pause, she added: "Happy Father's Day, babe!"

Harvey grinned as he put his hand on his wife's "babies bump". For the first time in years, that day wasn't a sad one for him. He still missed his father and wished that he could still be alive to witness all that had happened in his son's life recently and what was about to happen in the near future. At the same time, he had so much to look forward to, notably becoming a father himself. "Thanks, Donna. For everything." _For putting up with me all these years. For marrying me. For making me a father. I love you so much._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday June 30, 2018_

"Oh Donna, our honeymoon was great! It wasn't as productive as yours though… Not that we wanted it to be in the first place!"

"We got lucky. Very lucky." She laughed at the double entendre of her retort.

The voices made Paula Agard turn her head in the sounds' direction to confirm what she already suspected: Donna and Rachel walking towards their table several feet away from her. She had always feared that it was only a matter of time before she saw Harvey or Donna in New York City again. Time and luck. On the one hand, it was clearly bad luck that they were at the same restaurant as her (for a first date that was now under inauspicious skies). On the other hand, she acknowledged her good luck in the fact that the pair was unable to see her, thanks to the restaurant's configuration, while she could see them. She examined the two women, starting with Rachel who, from what she had just gathered, was returning from her honeymoon. The young lawyer was beaming, eyes twinkling. As for the redhead, well, she would have been fine not seeing her at all. She immediately noticed that she was pregnant, her baby bump impossible to hide under her clothes. She was married too if she understood correctly. She had always thought that it was ridiculous to talk about pregnant women and their supposed glow. However, after spying on the COO for a few minutes, she believed that it actually existed. From the smile that didn't seem to leave her face to the frequent laughs that could be heard from a distance, everything about Donna Paulsen screamed happiness. To add insult to injury, Donna walked with more grace in her condition than most women could only ever hope for while _not_ pregnant, herself included. She didn't want to admit it but she was envious of the redhead. Not just physically or for the "glow" that radiated from her (even though it was obvious) but for her unique relationship with Harvey as well. He had chosen Donna over her after all. With regards to her current date, she might have chosen to be there initially but it wasn't what one would call successful. In that particular context, she hadn't been able to enjoy her date's company but she knew human psychology enough to sound interested despite not really paying attention to the man in front of her (as a result, he probably didn't detect her distraction). Similarly, she didn't appreciate her food, which was disappointing since it was supposed to be really good. It was a new restaurant with excellent reviews (and the reason why Rachel had suggested it to Donna in the first place, not that Paula knew it). Needless to say, there was no second date with that man. If the psychiatrist checked the firm's website when she was alone at home later that night, nobody had to know. All she learned was that Donna was still the firm's COO and that the firm had merged with another one, Harvey becoming Number 2 in the process. She wondered how badly he had taken it, remembering how important work was for him. She hadn't heard from him since his short response to her email and suspected that he would never reach out to her again. It's for the best, she tried to convince herself. She would have to live with the uncertainty of how he was doing and her regrets.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Thursday July 5, 2018_

Donna's loud laugh was heard from outside her office and David raised his eyebrows at Maya who was looking at him, having heard the redhead too. They both turned their gaze to the COO's office where Donna was sitting in her chair. She had her back to the desk, facing Harvey who was leaning against the window sill, and, as a result, they could not see the interaction between the two. The door to Donna's office was closed so they knew that Donna's laugh was _really_ loud.

The redhead really wanted to comment on the keychain in her hand, a present from Harvey to commemorate the finalization of the sale of their new home earlier that day. It was a cartoon snail with the inscription "Snailed it!" underneath it. The problem was that every time she looked at the words, she started laughing uncontrollably again. She also wanted to ask him where he had found it as imagining him, usually so serious, buy that specific keychain was hilarious to her. She was almost giggling at that point but she noticed Harvey's proud grin and it prompted another bout of laughter from her. Once it finally subsided, Donna wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes and exhaled loudly, a huge smile on her face. "God, that felt good", she said happily. She looked at Harvey and locked eyes with him before adding teasingly: "Almost as good as having an orgasm!"

That, in turn, made him chuckle, then smirk. "As you said, _almost_ as good…" He glanced behind her, glad that only David and Maya were in sight. "But clearly, you need a reminder of how different laughing and having an orgasm can be", he declared while getting closer to her.

Donna shook her head and smiled. " _You_ need a reminder that we have glass walls in our offices", she warned him.

"And I regret them everyday!"

"No, you don't. You liked them when I was still working for you and you could see me outside your office all day."

"That was then, this is now", he argued.

"Sorry, babe. That's not going to happen until we get home. We need to behave professionally at work. You might get away with it, you know, with your name on the wall and all, but me…"

"Technically, your name is also on the wall", Harvey interjected.

"Well, that's not my point. My point is you could get away with it, being a man and one of the name partners. Me, on the other hand? I'll always have to prove that I deserve to be COO for my work and for my work alone."

"That's totally unfair. People can be assholes and I'm sorry."

Donna smiled weakly and shrugged. _My favorite male ally!_ She wasn't going to change the world all by herself and she was glad to have Harvey's support. She had always had his support, since day one at the DA's office. She was keenly aware of how privileged she was to be in her position as a woman and made sure that her professionalism and work ethic were never questioned, while hoping that her value to the firm continued to be praised. She was proud of a recent change to the firm's bylaws that she had championed to better support the firm's employees who were also parents, and in particular parents of young children. She never hid the fact that her motivation was partly selfish: she wanted to be able to take care of her own kids when they would be born and she didn't want to have to choose between her job and her family. She had worked too hard to sabotage her career but she wanted to be there for her children at the same time. Hence the changes in their organization that would allow her to take a longer parental leave than what was allowed before, without threatening her position at the firm (or negatively affecting the firm). She used the summer months to plan her leave, increasing David's responsibilities (and salary) as well as hiring a new person in their human resources department. Harvey intended to take time off too and he sat down with Robert, Louis, Alex, Samantha and Donna to make sure that the firm's clients wouldn't suffer when the time came. He had never been so happy to be number 2 and let Robert be in charge as he wanted to be present with Donna for the twins.

Their summer was also extremely busy outside the office as they moved into their new home, a beautiful townhouse with plenty of space to accommodate a family of four and several guests comfortably, and finalized their shopping in preparation of the twins' arrival scheduled for early September. Among the most crucial items to buy for the pair: a double stroller (the most challenging item according to Donna) and a car big enough for two infant car seats and their stroller (Harvey had never imagined that he would choose a car based on cargo space and yet…). Donna was relieved when her checklist was completed since she was getting more and more exhausted and irritable with each passing day. She was in almost constant discomfort and sleep was hard to come by. The heat wave that hit New York City at the end of August and the fact that they hadn't been intimate in a while also contributed to her state of grumpiness. _Not long to go now._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Monday September 3, 2018_

Harvey ran his palm over the swell of Donna's bump and felt the babies move. He lifted her top to expose her skin. "Wow, that's something", he said reverently while following the movements at the surface of Donna' freckled skin.

"Imagine on the inside", she retorted drily.

"Little aliens." Donna gave him a stern look so he quickly corrected himself: "Karate kids."

She chuckled. _That's better._ "Maybe."

"It's crazy to think that soon we're going to be four."

"Crazy, scary, exciting…"

"Yeah. Congratulations, by the way, on not being in labor today. That would have been so unoriginal to be in labor on Labor Day!"

"As if I have any control… Had it happened, it would totally have been your fault though. I mean, as soon as you were given the green light, you and your little swimmers were very eager to impregnate me!"

"My little swimmers and I were indeed very eager but if I remember correctly, you were very eager too. Not that I can blame you: after all, I'm so handsome and intelligent that I'm basically irresistible."

"Don't forget funny", she replied sarcastically.

"I was just trying to be modest", he joked back.

Donna scoffed and tried to breathe calmly when another Braxton Hicks contraction hit. She knew that they were normal and not a sign of labor. However, she couldn't help be feel nervous about the approaching delivery. So many things could go wrong, especially with twins, that she had legitimate reasons to be nervous. In all that, she was grateful for Harvey's calm presence by her side. She suspected that he wasn't so calm on the inside and appreciated his efforts in remaining positive and poised for her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday September 8, 2018 - Evening_

"You want to have sex?!" _Really?!_

"It might help start the process… Besides, we haven't had sex in a while." Harvey nodded. _I know_. "And we'll have to wait even longer before we can do it again!"

 _I know that too. Unfortunately_. "A "last meal" kind of thing?"

"A "hurry up before I change my mind" kind of thing."

 _Please, don't change your mind now!_ "Got it. No small talk."

Coincidence or not, Donna and Harvey found themselves at the hospital the following morning and that time, the contractions were not Braxton Hicks. Donna was officially declared in labor and considering her high risk pregnancy with the twins she was monitored closely by her obstetrician. She was eventually moved to a birthing suite and Harvey asked to change into scrubs.

"How do I look?" he asked her minutes later. "Could I pass as Dr. Specter?!"

"You could", she admitted, momentarily distracted from her contractions.

"Do you think I missed my calling?"

"I don't know but I know that despite the scrubs looking surprisingly good on you, I prefer you in a suit." In what she thought was a low voice, she added soon after: "Or with nothing at all."

The nurse that was closer to Donna raised an eyebrow. _Are they flirting right now? Seriously?!_

The obstetrician entered the room and unceremoniously interrupted the exchange: "Alright, Donna, Harvey, are you ready to meet your children?"

The couple looked at each other and Harvey smiled, answering for both with a firm "yes" that didn't betray his own anxiety. He would use his best poker face to give all his strength and support to Donna. There were too many people in the room for him to tell her anything other than simple words of encouragement but he hoped that she could still read him. _I love you, Donna. I have faith in you. I'm with you every step of the way._

Amanda was born first, making her presence known loudly. Her brother, Gordon, followed her 10 minutes later but his arrival into the world was significantly more stressful for all the adults present in the room. Things were going reasonably well until they heard several quick words of the obstetrician to the nurse assisting him and saw his expression suddenly turn serious. The two actions combined alerted them that things were not going so well anymore. Harvey and Donna held their breath for what felt like an eternity (seconds in reality) in anticipation of their son's first cry. They only exhaled once it was heard and the obstetrician confirmed that he was alright, relieved and overjoyed in equal parts that their babies were with them and in good health.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Monday September 10, 2018 – Very early morning_

Harvey was sitting on the bed next to Donna. They were each holding a baby. Donna had been transferred to a private room and they probably should have been sleeping but their emotions were still running all over the place, preventing them from sleep, at least for a little longer. They had contacted their family and friends to let them know of the big news (they would only visit them later as it was the middle of the night) and were currently enjoying a quiet moment with their little bundles of joy sleeping soundly in their arms. Harvey admired his wife with their daughter close to her chest and smiled. He removed the little cap from his son's head and started to gently stroke his hair, his gaze briefly leaving the infant to glance in his wife's direction. He saw her shake her head slowly and inquired: "What?"

Donna chuckled quietly. "He's so blonde, almost white", she whispered. She also removed the cap from his twin's head and added: "And so is his sister."

Harvey locked eyes with his wife. "I'm kind of surprised that at least one of them doesn't have red hair to be honest."

"I'm kind of relieved I didn't give birth to the Weasley twins!"

Harvey laughed out loud and the infant in his arms opened his eyes suddenly, a small frown forming on his face. "Sorry, baby." He kissed him on the forehead. "Your mommy is funny. And I know I use sarcasm a lot but, in this instance, I'm not being sarcastic. You'll learn that she is really funny and she's going to make you laugh a lot too."

Donna looked at her husband adoringly. _I can't believe this is our life now…_ She cleared her throat, swallowing back her emotions. "Yeah, well, you know that not everyone is my family is a redhead."

Harvey shrugged. "Still. I wouldn't have minded a redhead baby or two…"

She gave him a pointed look. "Well, you clearly have strong genes. They're as blonde as you when you were a baby."

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not", she replied softly, ridiculously in love with the tiny humans that they had created together.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"Listen to you, Specter, our kids are not even a day old and you're already getting soft", Donna joked. _Our kids._ Our. Kids. _Wow!_

"One, I'm not "getting soft", I'm just stating facts. With us as biological parents they _had_ to be beautiful. Two, I was anything but soft when my powerful genes went on their quest to join yours…"

"Watch your language, Harvey", she admonished him. "We have small ears listening now!"

"I apologize, babies!" He leaned against Donna and kissed their daughter's nose. "She has a cute little nose, just like yours. And her lips, it's you too."

"You think?"

"Definitely."

"They're so tiny."

"Tiny but mighty!"


	21. Epilogue

_Author's notes: Happy Suits day, Suitors! No new episode tonight but my last chapter for "Of emotional intelligence and happiness"! 21 chapters, more than 70,000 words and countless hours of fun, especially for Donna and Harvey… I hope you liked reading about Darvey as much as I liked writing about them :) A little precision concerning the timeline which might be confusing to some (though not as confusing as the show's timeline): this story started in 2017 a little before our favorite couple celebrated their 13-year work anniversary ("lucky 13"). Fast forward to September 2018 when the twins were born (where Chapter 20 ended) and another fast forward to July 2019 (the twins are 10 months old) for the beginning of this chapter (aka, the story's epilogue). There will be several time jumps so get ready…_

 _With regards to this particular chapter, I borrowed several bits of dialogue/ideas from Season 9 (or before), you'll recognize them easily ;) I'm glad that I had decided to include Malik and Lily before Episode 908 – their addition is even more relevant now (and I totally refuse to accept what happened to Lily). Finally, if you're interested in seeing with your own eyes the piece of jewelry mentioned at some point in the epilogue, go online (it exists and I thought it was very "Donna")._

 _I have many favorite moments from this story from Donna and Harvey's argument in the elevator in Chapter 1 to the birth of the twins in Chapter 20 (writing about Donna's "needs" was also insanely fun) but I'll let you tell me which ones were yours in the review section! Suits has just ended (beautifully if I may add) but we still have fanfics to keep Darvey alive :)_

 _Thursday July 11, 2019_

Since the end of his parental leave, Harvey particularly loved Thursdays. In an attempt to strike the right work-life balance, he and Donna had both decreased their hours at the firm. They could afford the loss of income and could have easily retired if they had wanted to (and still live comfortably) but it wasn't who they were so they had found a compromise that satisfied all of them as much as possible. Unless there was a crisis at work, Harvey was off on Thursdays to spend time with the twins (their nanny appreciated having a day to herself during the week too). Depending on the weather, he would go to the park near their home, to the library for a relaxed story time or, if he felt extra motivated, he would go for a run while pushing the double stroller and its tiny occupants (quickly regretting his choice as it was a surprisingly demanding workout). That day, Harvey was at the park after a long walk while the twins were napping peacefully. He enjoyed the calm before the storm, as he liked to call it (he was already anticipating the chaos that would inevitably ensue once they would be). Not for the first time he marvelled at his wife's seemingly natural ability to take care of their kids by herself. She made it look so effortless but he knew first hand that it was far from easy. He admired Donna even more since she had started an MBA program at NYU part time. She would go to her night class later after her day at the office and he could only empathize for with her. He thought that she was a little crazy for going back to school but was immensely proud of her for sticking with it despite the hectic schedule that it entailed. Running from home to the firm and, a couple of times a week, to campus was her new routine, juggling kids, people at work and school assignments with all the efficiency and grace that she was known for. He loved his wife (his real life Wonder Woman). He loved his children more than anything: his expressive and bubbly daughter (he liked to tease Donna that she had inherited her theatrical nature from her) and his quiet and easy-going son ("He didn't get that from you!" Donna had joked recently). He loved his life (his crazy, busy, challenging, amazing life) and he wouldn't change it for the world.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Monday October 14, 2019_

On most days, Donna thought that she could do it all. It was difficult (and it left her with little time to herself) but she could manage family, work _and_ school. It wasn't a day like that though. David, her assistant, wasn't at his desk thanks to an injury sustained that weekend (while playing volleyball!) and to make things worse, their nanny had called in sick the same morning, stuck at home with the flu. As a result, she was at the firm with several meetings impossible to reschedule at the last minute and a pair of non-cooperative children in tow. In the past, barely a few months before, she would have been quite productive despite having them in her office. However, at 13 months old, the twins were increasingly mobile and curious to explore the world and working with them there wasn't as effective, not to say nearly impossible. Her current job was to make sure that they either didn't destroy her office or injure themselves in the process. _Work-life balance? What work-life balance?! More like work-life imbalance!_ She had successfully met with the firm's new associates, the kids strapped in their double stroller, toys and snacks at their disposition. She was still in Conference Room A when she checked Harvey's schedule on her phone (Harvey was busy earlier with a client of his own) and decided to make her way to his office. Her next meeting was in 20 minutes and without David to help (he was surprisingly good with them and the kids loved him), she wouldn't be able to hold it. _Sorry, babe. Your turn!_

Maya wasn't at her desk in front of Harvey's office and Donna remembered Harvey telling her that she was on vacation that week. The temp assigned to him was probably out to make copies. _Is anybody working today?!_

"Harvey", Donna started and noticed the other person in her husband's office. "Hi Scottie! Sorry to interrupt but I have a meeting in less than 30 minutes and I need to get ready." She stopped the stroller with two discontented babies inside next to his desk, quickly kissed them and told them to be good to their father (she was maybe naïve but she was hopeful) before wishing him good luck (she tried not to sound sarcastic), turning on her heels and leaving the office swiftly.

Scottie who had observed the scene with growing discomfort, largely due to the increasing noise level displayed by the miserable twins (Gordon in particular), took advantage of the moment: "Harvey, it was nice to see you again. You take care of your kids. I'm going to catch up with Donna and then be on my way out."

Harvey barely glanced in her direction when she exited the room, too focussed on his children. He took his son in his arms and pushed the stroller with Amanda next to his record player. "Do you want to hear some music, trouble makers? I'm sure Grandpa G has something that you're going to like." (Eventually, his father's music did the trick and the twins calmed down as they heard the saxophone. _Thanks, Dad!_ )

Donna heard Scottie's sigh of relief when they exited the office and couldn't help but tease the woman that she now considered a friend (it had taken them a long time but there they were, comfortable enough to tease each other): "Not missing having kids at this exact moment, are you?!"

Dana chuckled. "Ha! No, Wyatt and I might reconsider in the future but we're enjoying our freedom for now. That being said, hurting ears aside, they're adorable. Harvey showed me some pictures. You and Harvey seem in your element. I've never seen him so happy, Donna. You either for that matter."

Donna smiled softly. "Hurting ears _and_ sleepless nights aside, we're very happy. But don't be fooled! They're only adorable as a defense mechanism, otherwise they wouldn't survive!"

The brunette laughed again. "You look amazing by the way. Women who've had children must hate you! Who am I kidding?! Women who haven't had children as well, myself included."

Donna smiled. "Thanks for the compliment, Scottie. I don't feel amazing most days but it's nice of you to say."

"Come on, Donna. One year after giving birth to twins… And you returned to school on top of it?!" She knew that Donna didn't have to, that it had only taken Robert Zane one meeting with Donna explaining the firm's current situation and her plan for the next three years to be convinced that she was indeed "the best COO New York City had ever seen" (Harvey's words). She was also aware of how difficult it was to be taken seriously as a woman in a male-dominated world and couldn't blame her for wanting to eliminate all the doubts surrounding her presence at the top of a law firm.

"Yeah, well, I needed to do it for myself", she replied with conviction. "And it felt like it was now or never so…", she shrugged.

"Fair enough", Scottie said, nodding in understanding. "So tell me: what's your secret for keeping your sanity _and_ rocking a body that most women must be jealous of?"

Donna smirked, contemplating how much she wanted to divulge. "Yoga. _Lots_ of yoga." Actual yoga was only part of Donna's self-care routine. The other type of "yoga" was an additional (and fun) way to burn calories but Dana Scott didn't need to know that.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Thursday July 23, 2020_

It was a hot and sunny day in New York City, the kind that made you appreciate air conditioning or seek the nearest shade and ice cream truck. With a few files to sign, Harvey had decided to quickly bring the twins to work that afternoon but not before stopping for a cold treat at the small park near the firm.

"Is it good, Gordon?"

"Good" was his son's only verbal answer, his wide grin (not so dissimilar to his father's) indicating his enthusiasm more successfully.

As he was about to ask the same question to Amanda, his daughter demanded: " _Ife_ cream!"

Harvey chuckled. "Please?"

" _Pease_! _Ife_ cream!"

He held out the spoon of ice cream in front of Amanda. "Here you go, my impatient girl!"

The twins shared the rest of the ice cream and Harvey cleaned their face with a wipe once they were done. He was finally ready to head to the firm, one child secured in the double stroller, content to observe the world from his seat, and one child on his hip (at her request), ready to take on the world in the safety of her father's arms. Not expecting to meet people that he knew there, Harvey was surprised to hear a familiar voice next. "Look at that. Harvey Specter in full father mode."

The words were nice but the tone too sarcastic to be sincere. And then, there was the man behind the voice… "What are you doing here, Malik?"

"Me? I was just in the neighbourhood." The evasive answer unsettled the former name partner who clenched his jaw but preferred to remain silent (he knew that he didn't need much to react when it came to his former colleague). "Did you find yourself a young Swedish woman to carry your children?!"

 _Why would he ask that?! Because of their blonde hair?_ Harvey breathed deeply, inhaling slowly and exhaling loudly. _Don't give him the satisfaction. Just. Don't._ "Malik, if you want to talk to me in a professional capacity, you'll have to go through my assistant. As for the rest, it's none of your business." _And stay away from me and my family!_ With that, he intended to go around the Deputy Attorney General and not look back but Amanda had other plans. Before he could leave, his daughter, his _amazing_ daughter, did something that he would never forget: she threw the little ball that she was holding in her left hand and it went directly to the other man's crotch (with quite some strength for such a little girl, if he could say so himself). He would later swear that he saw something in her eyes at that moment that reminded him of Donna's "don't mess with Harvey or I'll mess with you" look (the fact that she had the same eye color as her mother made the similarity even more striking). Malik's throat emitted a pained sound at the ball's impact (Harvey tried not to show his satisfaction). The former prosecutor then bent over to pick up the ball (a subtle way to mask his discomfort) and give it back to her owner (he might despise her father but a kid was a kid and he wasn't _that_ mean). Harvey nodded and finally left, fuming considerably less all of a sudden and mentally adding to the (already long) list of things that he loved about Amanda: her perfect aim. _That's my girl!_ By the time he had reached the firm's lobby and handed the twins over to Mike, he had completely calmed down. He still wanted to see his wife though, so he made his way to her office to wait for her (he knew that she had a meeting in Conference Room C with several members of their IT department). He didn't have to wait for too long before he saw her arrive. She was wearing a blue pant suit with a white shirt and his heart made a leap in his chest. _Are you trying to kill me, Donna?!_ She walked towards him, elegance in motion.

"Good, you're here. Where are the twins? There's something I need to tell you…"

Harvey closed the space between them and captured her lips in a passionate kiss that surprised her initially but quickly made her forget where they were and what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry, I just had to kiss you", he offered a little while later, going for sheepish, yet knowing that he probably seemed far too proud to pull it off.

 _It feels like déjà vu. Only better._ "Not that I'm complaining but what was that all about?" They had agreed on limited public displays of affection at work (she had insisted on it; he had relented and mostly complied) so she suspected that he had a valid reason to break the rules.

"I'm so glad you're not Swedish", he responded in one breath, chuckling to himself at the inside joke that he was about to share with her.

 _Not what I expected!_ "What? Where does it come from?" _Swedish?!_ "You know I'm of Irish descent", she confirmed, confused but not hesitant to exclaim "Go Irish!" with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Harvey chuckled at her feigned excitement and moved on to explained what had transpired earlier at the park (his "short and very unpleasant" encounter with Malik), which sobered her up rather quickly. Remembering her entrance minutes before, Harvey inquired next: "What did you want to tell me when you entered your office?"

"When you _unceremoniously_ cut me? And once again adopted my strategy of "kiss first, talk later"?"

"It's been proven effective… More seriously, what did you want to tell me?"

"Malik was here too. He spoke with David who expertly blocked him but not before demanding that I'd go to the DA's office next week."

"I've always liked David", he replied sincerely. "What is it about?"

"An old case, from our time at the D.A.'s office."

Harvey hummed, sceptical that it was as simple as that. "I'll come with you. Until then, let's not give more attention to this despicable man."

"I like it when you're sensible."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Tuesday July 28, 2020_

"Thank you for coming, Ms. Paulsen, but you didn't need to bring a lawyer. I just have a few questions to ask you", Malik said while indicating Harvey with his hand, already annoyed by the other man's presence (and slightly intimidated too).

 _It's Mrs. Specter now._ She would have really liked to correct him (it would have most likely achieved the opposite had she done so). Instead, she went with: "Oh, Harvey is not here as my lawyer", she responded innocently. Not yet anyway, was what was implied by her answer (the message was received loud and clear by Malik). "He's my driver today. Mine is on vacation for the week."

It took almost 30 minutes of questioning for Donna's patience to vanish. She had answered all the questions that Malik had thrown at her, making her feel like she was the one accused. Harvey silently supported his wife all along, resolute to let Donna speak for herself and not intervene unless strictly necessary. He secretly enjoyed the show though. Donna's encounter with Malik had indeed shown him once again how brilliant she was and how proud he was to be her husband. Her reaction at the end when Malik had dared to ask her another redundant question had been absolutely priceless…

"This interview is over. You had your fun but don't try to pretend that this is actually about the law. You've been asking me the same question over and over in ten different ways just to prove a point. It ends now. I've always wondered where your animosity towards Harvey and I stemmed from and I came to one conclusion: you're jealous. Jealous of Harvey and of our relationship because we make a great team, the _best team_. And you can't stand the fact that we left the DA's office together and now are running one of the best law firms in town." _The best but let's not gloat_. "Get over it, Malik. Get a life. _We_ are certainly too busy to waste our time on whatever _that_ was. And one last thing: I'd be careful if I were you before you summoned me to another one of your questionable interviews. You wouldn't want to be sued for harassment and abuse of power now, would you?"

The couple exited the room with a bounce in their step, Harvey smiling coyly behind Donna. _I love you, Donna!_ They walked side by side in the office's corridors, maintaining a respectable distance between their bodies, a habit whenever they were in a work context and only spoke when they were inside the car waiting for them on an adjacent street.

"Oh my god, that was perfect! _You_ were perfect!"

Donna turned on her seat to face Harvey. "That felt good!"

"I'm so glad you're not a lawyer", he declared as soon as he had stopped chuckling. "First, blinded by your beauty and charisma. Then, annihilated by your intelligence and wit!"

"Ha! You are certainly lucky that I'm not a lawyer because I would have crushed you in court without breaking a sweat."

"I don't doubt that for a second."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday August 1_ _st_ _, 2020_

"Harvey, we have to go back home. You know, to take care of our kids?"

"No, we don't have to. I've arranged for my mother and Bobby to stay an extra night. They were happy to spend more time with their grandchildren."

"What have you planned, Mr. Specter?"

"A simple date night with you, Mrs. Specter", he responded enigmatically.

"Now?! But…"

"Yeah, it's 6:30 pm. It might be a little early by our former (childless) standards but we now have kids and by the time we get there…"

"I need to change", she objected desperately. They had been shopping all day (clothes for the twins, books for her and running shoes for him). She was wearing jeans, sandals and a simple white blouse, nothing worth of a night out with her husband.

"You don't need to. You look beautiful, Donna. Jeans or designer clothes, you always look amazing."

 _Years into our marriage and you still find the right words to make me blush…_ Sensing that there was no use fighting her husband, she asked: "So, where are you taking me?"

 _Here in this car? Hum, maybe not the most romantic answer I could give…_ "I'm taking you to one of our favorite places", he replied instead. He had planned the whole thing; he might as well start it like the gentleman that he (sometimes) was.

It didn't take long for Donna to discover where they were going and understand why her outfit wouldn't be out of place. The diner. _Their_ diner _._ They didn't go there often and it dawned on her why they were going there then. Their work anniversary was coming up and it made sense that Harvey had chosen that place to celebrate. "People would be surprised to know how sentimental you can be", she teased.

"People won't be surprised because people won't know", he countered, proud of his retort. "Maybe I just want to have a burger with my wife…"

"I know you, Harvey Specter. We're not here just to have burgers together."

"Okay, we're not", he finally conceded. "I wanted to surprise you. As you probably remember, it's our anniversary next week and what better location than this? Our diner… And I figured that by doing it in advance I'd have greater chances of surprising you."

"Consider me surprised", she smiled softly. "And yes, I remember our work anniversary. 16 years! Sweet 16! That being said, you'd better enjoy the moment because it's not everyday that I eat burgers!"

"You love burgers!"

"I love _you_!"

"Who's sentimental now?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"While you decide if you want a dessert or not", he started, glancing over his own menu at the redhead in front of him, "maybe you can have a look at this and let me know what you think."

Donna hadn't been Harvey's assistant in a long time but he kept seeking her opinion on various issues, professionally (how to deal with a particularly difficult client for example) as well as personally (what to get his mother for her birthday or creative ways to avoid going mudding with Louis). As a result, she didn't think much of his vague question. It was very much in line with his modus operandi. What wasn't in line though was the little red box that ended up next to her elbow on the table. She froze when she spotted the item and noticed the name on it. _Cartier_. She had thought that their "impromptu" date night was the surprise. It clearly wasn't. The only piece of jewelry that he had so far bought for her himself was a pair of beautiful diamond earrings (for their first Christmas together). And there he was with another ace up his sleeve… Curiosity got the better of her and she slowly opened the box, gasping when her gaze fell on the ring inside. It was made of three types of gold (white, pink and yellow gold) and diamonds. _Many_ diamonds.

"May I?" he asked, breaking the moment and helping her put the ring on the fourth digit of her right hand.

She nodded, too in awe to formulate any words. The ring was simply stunning. She eventually recovered enough to get up from her seat and kiss her husband on the lips. "Thank you, Harvey! I love it! I love you! I didn't need a ring to know how much you love me but this… It's… Wow! Beautiful doesn't even begin to cover it."

"I'm glad you like it", he replied, sighing in relief. He had been nervous that Donna would find his gift ostentatious (it probably would have been the case had he chosen the larger model). He however thought that it was perfectly _her_ : elegant from a distance, spectacular when you looked closer. "I won't pretend that I'm an expert and that I knew all the details about this ring when I first caught a glimpse of it. It was more like love at first sight." He stared at her adoringly. _Same with you_. "But when I learned more about it, I knew that it was perfect for you."

He handed her a paper and she started reading the description: "The Trinity ring, small model, 18K white gold, 18K pink gold, 18K yellow gold, set with 300 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 1.35 carats." She looked at him with big round eyes. _300 diamonds! Are you crazy, Harvey?!_ He just smiled and she resumed her reading: "Designed by Louis Cartier in 1924, the Trinity ring is a signature design of the Cartier Maison. The three interlaced bands in pink, yellow and white gold symbolize love, fidelity and friendship. The ring has inspired the full Trinity collection, a timeless testament to life's most memorable loves." She glanced at her hand once more before shaking her head, overwhelmed by the whole thing. The date. The ring. Its meaning. Harvey. "You're going to make me cry."

"Don't worry, I'm done. No more surprises for you until, at least, 2025!"

She laughed and sniffled at the same time. "You're an idiot!"

"I love you too", he replied proudly.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday April 17, 2021_

"How is the assignment going?"

Donna looked up from her laptop and pile of notes on the side to answer her husband's question. "I still need to go through the whole document one more time for typos and maybe rewrite parts of my intro and conclusion, but other than that, I think I'm almost done." She sighed and leaned back on the chair of their home office. She took in Harvey's appearance, his James Bond tee-shirt and ugly blue and orange New York Knicks shorts ( _his lucky shorts_ ) and questioned him in return: "Going for a run?"

"That was the initial plan."

She noticed his mischievous eyes and smile. "The initial plan?" she asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Well, you've been working really hard to finish your degree and I didn't want to distract you but now that I know that you've made good progress in one of your last assignments, I think you can take a little break…"

Donna was intrigued. "Oh yeah?"

"Absolutely. You worked hard, you deserve a reward."

She saw him walk around the desk and turned her chair so that she could face him. "What kind of reward?" If she knew her husband well (she did), his reward system would leave her completely satisfied. That didn't prevent her from being curious though.

He bent over and captured her lips in a searing kiss, encircling her body with his arms as his hands rested on the armrest on either side of her. _The kind where my face disappears between your legs and you cry my name in ecstasy!_ "The fun kind", he replied succinctly, his gaze leaving no doubts that his intentions were far from pure. "I love your dress by the way", he added as he started caressing her thighs over the fabric of her dress, a black number that was flowy at the waist, making it more comfortable than her regular office outfits, yet sexy, because, even for an afternoon of school work at home, she wanted to feel good about herself and clothes were one way to achieve that.

"Thank you. And I love fun rewards", she retorted suggestively.

"You're going to love this one", he declared with assurance. "Now sit back and let me take care of you."

He dropped to his knees in front of her and let his hands wander under the hem of her dress, soon followed by his own head. _Yeah, I think I'm going to love this…_ What happened next was exactly what he had in mind and exactly what she had guessed: his face between her legs and her loving every second of it...

"That was hot", Harvey said when he emerged from under her dress, smirking smugly. One, for the orgasm that he had just given his wife and two, for another successful play on words.

She took a couple of seconds to catch her breath before answering. _I can't argue with that._ "Hum, yeah, that was pretty hot." She chuckled quietly, enjoying all the physiological changes induced by her most recent orgasm. She had a lazy smile on her lips, immensely grateful for her husband's aptly-named "fun reward". "It shouldn't be surprising considering your occupation but you have a very talented mouth, Mr. Specter."

"Why, thank you, Mrs. Specter. What can I say, I'm a lawyer but I'm not just good with words, am I?"

"No, you're not", she concurred easily. "Speaking of being good, you've been _very_ good to me, always supporting me in every way you can, I think you deserve a reward too…"

"I agree wholeheartedly", he said while finally standing from his kneeling position on the floor. He kissed her once more on the mouth, his hands cupping her face tenderly, and asked: "Want to take advantage of the kids being out with your parents?"

"It would be a shame not to, especially since my assignment is nearly finished", she reasoned. With that, she also stood up and swiftly cleared her work space, removing her laptop and notes from the desk. She wrapped her arms around his neck as soon as she was done and couldn't resist teasing him, first with her lips barely touching his, then with her words: "What do you say we pretend we're at work and I finally agreed to have sex with you there."

 _Role playing?! Oh yeah!_ "What's the occasion?"

"It's your birthday", she replied quickly before kissing him with passion, lips, tongue and even teeth ready to play with him and make him lose his mind.

He felt her smile against his lips and smiled too ( _it's my birthday and I'm about to get lucky!_ ) but before he succumbed to the multiple sensations that she was provoking (her hands had recently joined the fun), he had one question for her: "Your office?"

"Of course", she panted. He had started to attack her neck while his hands were roaming her body and she was feeling the combined effects of his renewed efforts. "Isn't it one of your fantasies?"

"It is", he growled. His reaction was elicited as much by her right guess (her desk was indeed _the ultimate fantasy_ ) as by his growing need to be with her.

Sensing (and sharing) his impatience, Donna cupped him over his shorts and heard him groan next to her ear. She would have teased him more but that would have meant delaying what she needed herself urgently: them connected as one. She preferred to free him from the confines of his clothes and, with him pulling her dress up, it wasn't long before they finally touched in the most intimate way. She moaned at the intrusion and kissed him fiercely. There was a time for slow and sensual and there was a time for fast and hard. Maybe it was the influence of their role playing, maybe it was the worry that her parents would come back sooner than expected with the kids, whatever the reason they were both on the same page: they wanted it fast and hard. Having sex on their shared desk (an appropriate representation of their life as partners outside of the office) while pretending to be at work, hereby fulfilling Harvey's admitted sexual fantasy (and hers too, but she would keep that to herself for a little longer), was a great combination. Their reward: mutual, synchronized, and intense. They were just coming down from their high when they heard her phone ring and laughed at the impeccable timing. Donna checked the caller id and laughed even more when she saw that it was Louis. She ignored the call, not ready to burst the little bubble that Harvey and her had created that afternoon in their home office. Louis could leave a message. "Imagine him calling 20 minutes earlier when you were on your knees!"

"Imagine you answering him! I can almost hear you say "sorry, Louis, Harvey can't come to the phone, he's a little busy right now" and me redoubling my efforts to bring you to ecstasy before the call ended!"

Donna chuckled. "I wouldn't have let our sexy time be interrupted."

Harvey chuckled with her. _Our sexy time. I like the sound of that._ "I can't believe it was my birthday and I didn't get to unwrap my present", he joked, indicating her body still draped in the dress.

"Why don't you unwrap it on our way to the shower? You didn't go running after all. You need more exercise to keep this body in shape!"

"I _do_ need more exercise", he agreed then checked his phone and added: "Your father said they would be home in 30 to 45 minutes. Plenty of time to have fun in the shower…"

"Loud shower sex: yes!"

Donna's enthusiasm would have been funny if it hadn't been such a turn-on for him. "Your wish is my command, my love!"

Precisely 35 minutes later, Harvey made his way downstairs where his children were playing with their grandparents. It was clear that he was coming out of the shower so he figured that he'd be proactive: "Donna had made good progress on her assignment and needed a study break. We went for a run."

"How nice to go running as a couple! Plus, it was such a beautiful day to be outside", Jim exclaimed.

Harvey hoped that his best poker face was still in place under his mother-in-law inquisitive gaze. "It was."

"How was the run, honey?" Jim asked as soon as his daughter joined them in the living room.

Donna glanced at her husband who returned her gaze and decided to roll with it. "It was great, Dad. Exactly what I needed." Harvey tried not to look too smug.

"Productive afternoon then?" her mother inquired. _A run?! Yeah, right!_

"Completely", she replied, beaming. _I mean,_ three _orgasms… Just that…_

She beamed back. "I'm glad." _Good for you, Donna!_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Saturday August 5, 2023_

"You should listen to Mommy, Daddy."

Harvey smiled softly at his daughter, already anticipating the funny retort that she would give him. "And why is that, Amanda?"

"Because Mommy is smarter than you. She went back to school and now she knows more than you." The expression on her face was as telling as if she had said "it's obvious, Daddy" out loud.

Not willing to be left out of the conversation, Gordon added: "Yes, Mommy has an NBA now."

"An MBA, Gordo. With an M, like Mommy. Not an N, like…"

"Like Nemo?" he offered, then turning to his father, he asked: "Daddy, can we watch Nemo before we go?"

"Another time, Gordon. Please pack your things and go change. You too, Amanda. We don't want to be late for our reservation!"

"Why do we have to change again?" Amanda asked.

To her father's greatest amusement, she hadn't inherited her mother's sense and love of fashion. She liked what was comfortable and didn't mind mixing stripes with polka dots. For that night though, Donna had picked an outfit that wasn't too far from what Amanda would have chosen herself: a pink skort and a white tee-shirt with purple butterflies on it. Amanda dragged her feet but did as her father had said. Her brother had left as soon as he had heard the instructions. Contrary to his sister, he liked putting on special clothes for special occasions and the kaki shorts/white shirt combo was his summer favorite (he would add his black bow tie to the mix, just because it was a special family outing).

"For the record, you didn't need to go back to school to be smarter than me."

Donna's soft smile turned wicked in an instant (she appreciated the compliment but couldn't resist a good quip): "But imagine what I could do if I owned the NBA!"

Harvey returned his wife's wicked grin. "You were always good at playing with balls…"

"Only yours, babe", she replied. She heard him chuckle and wondered: "Are you sure this is a good idea to celebrate our anniversary with them?"

"Absolutely", he responded genuinely. "We can wait a couple of years before going to Del Posto with them but I know tonight will be great."

"You _know_?!" _That's my line, mister!_

"I know", he confirmed. "Because our children are aware of how important this date is for us and they have a very high emotional intelligence. Therefore, they're going to behave at the diner."

"You bribed them", she declared. It wasn't even phrased as a question. It was a statement for she _knew_.

"I _made a deal_ with them" he corrected. "If they behave, they can have whatever they want for supper."

"And let me guess, you've already showed them the menu online."

He shrugged and grinned. _You got me!_ "They wouldn't commit before being informed of all the terms of the agreement…"

Donna shook her head in amusement. "Have they decided what they're going to get?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Amanda said she wanted a crepe with strawberries and chocolate while Gordon is set on a waffle with _lots_ of whipped cream."

She chuckled too. _Of course._ "They're definitely our children."

"Yep. And you're definitely my wife which makes me a very happy man."

FIN


End file.
